My life in danger, Gov. Amaechi cries out

THE political whirlwind blowing the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, became more ferocious on Monday with the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party suspending him from the party.

The PDP said Amaechi would remain suspended until an 11-man panel set up to probe his “sins” submited its report. Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), an Adamawa State indigene like the National Chairman of the party, Bamangar Tukur, chairs the investigative panel.

Coming in the wake of the controversial outcome of Friday’s election of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Amaechi said he was being victimised by federal powers and that he feared for the safety of his life.

He asked the people of his state to pray for him not to fall into the hands of “desperate people at the federal level.”

“The way these people at the federal level are desperate, they may come after my life; so when you pray, remember to pray for me to remain alive. Now, you see political witch-hunt. It is so ridiculous; my party must rise above political witch-hunt,” the governor said during an interactive session with the youths of the state.

He said the PDP gave him no fair hearing and that his suspension by the party was politically-motivated.

Amaechi defied the order of the PDP to run for a second term as chairman of the NGF and reportedly defeated a coalition of PDP’s governors who queued behind Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, believed to be the candidate of the Presidency.

Hours after Amaechi was declared the winner, the PDP governors and few collaborators from other parties announced their rejection of the Rivers governor’s victory, claiming that they recognised Jang as the winner.

Currently, there are two factions within the NGF.

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