The governor of Rivers State and APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Governor, Chibuike Amaechi has thrown his weight behind the soldiers sentenced to death by the Nigerian military authorities saying it was within their rights to protest.

Amaechi made the statement in Lagos, while briefing newsmen on the plans and modalities of how he and members of his campaign team, whose members would be announced soon, will work for the victory of the APC in next year’s presidential election.

According to Amaechi, “The challenge of the Nigerian military is not funding but corruption. Now they want to kill some 50 officers for their own failure to equip them properly to fight terrorism. The soldiers have the right to protest for the federal government’s failure to fully equip them.”

Amaechi assured Nigerians that Buhari will fight Boko Haram, “I hope that Nigerians will hear the message. The message is simple. Buhari is a strong leader who chased away the Maitatsine terror group. In the same manner, he will chase away Boko Haram.

“Borno was attacked once by Chadian rebels and Buhari then chased them away, even into the border of Chad. He will do that again with the Boko Haram sect. The issue of Boko Haram is not religious but poverty is what will make people go and register with any terrorist group.”

When asked what APC was doing to stop the insurgent, Amaechi said: “If we had the power to stop the insurgency we would have done that to salvage the three North-east states presently under emergency rule.”
Contrary to Amaechi’s assertion, the three North-east states are no longer under emergency rule as it expired last month.

“State governors do not have the power to end the insurgency but the federal government does. The issue of security is in the exclusive list. APC as it stands cannot do anything to end the insurgency because we are not in power.”

Amaechi said failure to conduct elections in some of the troubled states could plunge Nigeria into a constitutional crisis.

When asked about the allegation that he was using Rivers State’s resources to fund APC  he said; “I did not. We did not spend money. We have maintained that Nigerians will fund us.

“Anyone with evidence should bring that out. We are launching a campaign fund for Buhari and we are talking with the general to make him the only signatory to it.

“We cannot fight the president with money. Look at how he has raised his own funds through people he was supposed to prosecute for engaging in the fuel subsidy fraud but didn’t. We can only fight the president with the people clamoring for change in every corner of Nigeria.”

 “When we said that N1.9 trillion (subsidy money) was missing, I was speaking with facts. As the chairman of the governor’s forum, I was in a meeting when we discovered that money was missing.

“The president promised the governors that he will collect the money but failed. Later he said he will prosecute the people responsible but also failed.

“I was speaking with facts because later the National Assembly discovered that it was actually N2.3 trillion that was missing.

“Also when the CBN governor then said that money was missing; yes he was not consistent with the figures but then truth be told that money was missing. Why didn’t the president investigate the missing money? But instead he sacked Sanusi for saying that money was missing.”

Amaechi also faulted the President’s plan on job creation and agriculture “on agriculture, I believe that Buhari as president will deal with it and create employment.”

On his campaign strategy, he said his team will not follow in the footsteps of the presidency by engaging in propaganda, but will deal with issues.

“The only reason they (PDP) are calling Buhari “semi-illiterate” is because they have no other issue to campaign with.

“The president has a Ph.D in Zoology but how many farms or related unemployment programme has he done with that degree? The election is about what Nigerians want.

“Do you want to choose a man who has brought tears to your eyes or a man who is a proven performer?” he queried.

 The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Wednesday urged comments that encourage discipline and obedience in the Army.

According to him, “The PDP will refrain from commenting on issues of military discipline, its command and control procedures during this campaign period or even after, as we believe that it is dangerous to politicise issues pertaining to the country’s Armed Forces.

“We will not join anyone or political party in the unpatriotic act of trying to subordinate national interest to any politically and selfishly
motivated interest. It is in the light of this that we view the statement credited to the Director General of the Presidential Campaign
Organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as not being in the overall interest of the military and the nation.”