Forum alleges plot to force Amaechi out

THERE are fresh allegations of a plot to remove Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

The plan is to force him to resign, the Rivers Peoples Forum, a socio-political group claimed yesterday.

The Nation got no independent confirmation of the “plan” last night.

The RPF, in a statement signed by its President, Charles Bekwele, gave details of the plot, which it sees as part of the dispute including the Governor, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency.

The statement reads: “This fresh plot to illegally remove Governor Amaechi from office is another desperate move by the Abuja cabal that is so desperate to remove the governor from office by ‘all means possible’. This Abuja cabal has hatched a four-part sinister plot that is planned to end with the governor being blackmailed and threatened to resign from office.”

“Incontrovertible information at our disposal indicates that the Abuja cabal working with some expired politicians in the State has plan to execute this plot within three weeks. The hatchet man of the expired politicians is a former Rivers State legislator who was recently involved in the failed plot to remove the State Speaker Otelemaba Amachree, which led to the fracas in the state Assembly. The said former legislator lobbied the state legislators with promises of huge sums of money to impeach the Speaker.”

The RPF went on: “The plot would involve seizing Governor Amaechi in connivance with security agents, then forcing and blackmailing him to resign. Something like what happened to former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige. This threat and blackmail may involve the use of members of his nuclear family, if the need arises. The whole operation they plan would be done within three hours and within that time frame the governor would be held incommunicado from the rest of the world until he resigns and record for the electronic media his resignation speech.”

“The statement said Amaechi would, going by the plot, be replaced by another man from his ethnic group, Ikwerre, unti the 2015 election.

The people, RPF stressed, will reject the plot because “Amaechi was given a mandate by Rivers people to be their governor until May 29, 2015”. “Any attempt to truncate this collective mandate of Rivers people will be firmly resisted by Rivers people. We will not allow any individual or cabal to truncate our collective mandate given to Governor Amaechi. They must henceforth desist from such insidious plots that will certainly throw our polity into disarray and threaten our democracy. This reckless impunity must stop,” it said.

The fracas broke out in House of Assembly on July 9 and 10.

Five members of the 32-member House attempted to hold a meeting believed to be programmed to suspend the leadership to pave the way for the removal of Amaechi.

The five members said they impeached Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amacree and installed Evans Bipi as Speaker .

Bipi and other four members are loyal to Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike who is opposed to Amaechi.