An erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze and member of the APC Legacy Projects Media Team, has warned those urging the incumbent Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi to resign to desist from the act.
In a press statement made in Port Harcourt on Thursday, Eze stated that such people were exhibiting their level of ignorance following Amaechi’s declaration for presidency.
Eze said the presidential hopeful would resign when it becomes imperative according to the electoral law and dictates of his principal, urging those threatened by Amaechi’s declaration to learn to live by the reality facing them.
“I have read some groups threatening the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation, to resign within 48 hours after declaring to contest the 2023 general elections. It is very obvious that those groups are being sponsored by those who are threatened by Amaechi’s declaration. I must say they are totally ignorant of both the Constitution and the Electoral Law of this country”, he noted.
For avoidance of doubt, Eze quoted section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022 which reads: ‘No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.
He also quoted Article 31 (1) (iii) of the APC Constitution (October 2014 As Amended), which states that: “Any party office holder interested in contesting for an elective office (whether party office or office in a general election) shall resign and leave office 30 days prior to the date of nomination or party primary for the office he or she is seeking to contest.
He continued: “Not minding that the section of the electoral law as stipulated above is under the judiciary scrutiny, let me ask: has APC fixed her primary to elect or select her presidential candidate and based on this fact is Amaechi involved in any electoral primary of his party to warrant him resigning at the moment, he asked.
He further noted: “Both Amaechi and our legal team are fully aware of what both the Electoral laws and what the constitution states and will act accordingly when it is time and not on any threat by any misguided Group or Groups.”
“With stand of one Dr. Farouq Kperogi that Amaechi by declaring to contest the 2023 general elections before God and his people by last Saturday that he is a clown. This assertion makes it doubtful if truly Dr. kperogi merits the academic titles he parades or if he needs to top up his credentials so as to understand matters better and educate Nigerians better.
“How can you say that a man who was Speaker of a State Assembly like Rivers State for eight years and Governor for eight years, a man who in the history of politics all over the world acted as a Director General of a presidential Campaign Organisation that ousted a very powerful sitting President in 2015 and the reelection of President Buhari in 2019 and a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for seven years is not qualified to contest the number one seat of this country.”
