By Nwaogu Faustinus
Former Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, foresaw the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari two years before he made history as the first Nigerian to defeat a sitting President in an election. This was disclosed by an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who is also a close ally of Amaechi.
According to Eze in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, “When it comes to believing in the abilities of President Buhari, I am yet to see anyone who can rival Amaechi. His love for Buhari and strong belief in his ability to take Nigeria out of the woods is like an obsession
“I can still vividly remember how Amaechi predicted Buhari’s emergence as President during the early days of APC and long before the issue who would fly the party’s flag came up. When on 9th September, 2013 my appointment as the National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was announced to Nigerians the only brief I received was the 30 minutes encounter I had with Governor Amaechi. During that encounter he kept repeating that whenever General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) accepted to fly the flag of the emergent mega opposition political party in the country, the unseating of President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP would become a reality. I was deeply impressed by his strong belief in General Buhari. It was based on this that I went boldly into the field and with the cooperation of the G7 Governors and other leaders of the New PDP, we were able to dismantle what was the famous and largest political party in Africa (PDP).
Eze noted that Amaechi pursued Buhari’s emergence as APC presidential candidate with evangelical zeal after New PDP joined APC. “This obsession explains why Amaechi did all within his powers to ensure that Buhari emerged as the flag bearer of APC during the Lagos Convention and, as the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, worked even harder to ensure the ouster of former president Goodluck Jonathan during the March 28, 2015 presidential election,” Chief Eze said.
He stated that if not for the emergence of Buhari as President, Jonathan and his cohorts would have arrested and jailed Amaechi for championing the defeat of his own brother from the Niger Delta.
Chief Eze commended Buhari for his vision for a greater Nigeria as espoused in his Inaugural Address and his early steps since he assumed office last Friday. “Nigerians should be patient and pray for Buhari’s success. He is the best man for the job but he cannot do it alone, hence the need for all of us to give him the necessary support to deliver the dividends of democracy,” he stated.
