The defection of the deputy governorship candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in Rivers State, Akpo Yeeh, is raising a lot of dust with the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state alleging he was bribed with N200 million by Gov. Nyesom Wike to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party.
Responding, however, the PDP said the APC was talking rubbish as it has no reason to bribe anybody to join the party given that it has won the elections in the state.
Recall that Yeeh had on Monday resigned his membership of the AAC to join PDP, pledging support to the governor of the state.
He had alleged that the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi had forced them to sign undated letters of resignation.
Recall also that in the absence of the APC from the elections in the state and subsequent adoption of the AAC by the party and the Minister of Transportation, AAC became the major opposition against PDP in the state.
Reacting to the turn of events the APC spokesman in the state on Tuesday afternoon, Chris Finebone said: “Honestly, I think we are not surprised at the news that the deputy governorship candidate of the African Action Congress, Mr Akpo Yeeh, has resigned the membership of his party to join Wike after collecting N200 million from the government.”
“We are only reacting to his decision because we adopted in principles, the AAC governorship candidate, Biokpomabo Awara, and the fact that Mr Akpo, for want of justification for his actions, is struggling to lie about the Hon. Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
“Even the retarded of the earth know that Mr Akpo simply responded to what many people called ‘stomach infrastructure’.
“Depending on Mr Akpo’s station in life, N200 million definitely is a once in a lifetime opportunity he had to grab. His ilk totally jettisons their conscience in time like that.
“We wish him well. We only want to inform Mr Akpo that even as he struggles to reap from a script written by others, that in a few days he came close, he had no opportunity to know or to associate with the minister as to be in a position to say what he is claiming,” Mr Finebone said.
Also reacting to Yeeh’s defection the governorship candidate of the AAC, Biokpomabo Awara, who expressed disappointment over his deputy’s actions, debunked his claims that they were made to sign undated letters of resignation.
According to him, contrary to Yeeh’s claims, Amaechi and the APC offered their party unconditional support.
Awara claimed he was offered N3bn by Gov. Wike to drop his ambition, adding that his former running mate was aware that he rejected the offer.
“When the news first came out that Rivers State governor has offered him N200m to abandon me, I had no reason to believe it because that Elder Yeeh was aware I had earlier turned down an offer of N3bn that Governor Nyesom Wike offered me some days ago through his associates.
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“I made several attempts to reach my deputy without success; then I started developing some strange feelings pointing to a possible sell-out by him.
“I want to state that all the accusations made by my running mate against Mr Rotimi Amaechi are blatant lies poorly crafted by his paymaster, Governor Wike; and you could see how tough it was for him to read the script handed to him.
“I was never asked to and did not sign any letter of resignation. I am aware that my deputy also was not asked to or signed any letter of resignation. The support the AAC got from the minister and the APC was unconditional,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State government has denied bribing Yeeh to abandon the AAC.
The Commissioner for Information in the state, Emma Okah, who spoke on behalf of the government said: “They are talking rubbish. They are a people who have no shame, trying to distract people’s attention from the calamity which they have inflicted upon the people of Rivers State during the elections.
“Why do we need to bribe a deputy governorship candidate? Does it change the fact that we won the elections? Are we under any threat by AAC?
“What we can say is to thank the man (Mr Yeeh) for realising that there comes a time in a man’s life when you must tell yourself the truth.”
