RIVERS State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has accused members of the National Assembly of taking Nigerians for granted by passing into law the bill that will automatically make them members of the National Executive Committee of their political parties.
Amaechi said he was shocked that the federal lawmakers still passed the bill into law notwithstanding public displeasure at the controversial bill.
The governor, who was a former Speaker of the Rivers state house of Assembly, spoke during a stakeholders’ meeting in the state, described the action of the National Assembly members as an insult to Nigerians.
He explained that based on the dictates of the law, only the governor, his deputy, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and his deputy would be delegates from the state in the forthcoming presidential primary elections.
“The bill passed into law by members of the National Assembly on Wednesday for them to be NEC members of their political parties means they are taking Nigerians for granted.
“We now need to wait to know who will be qualified to be a delegate. By that law, it means only me, my deputy, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and his deputy are delegates.
“What it means is that before, we were negotiating. Now, there is no more negotiation. I will lead the campaign in Rivers State. Let them (National Assembly members from Rivers) come and run election here.
“If we win here and they go there and change the results, we will do something else. We cannot have members of the National Assembly that are bigger than us,” the governor stated.
He, however, warned that the Peoples Democratic Party could lose the forthcoming elections if they allowed the National Assembly to foist themselves on Nigerians.
Earlier, the Director-General of Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida assured the people of the South-South zone that Jonathan would win 80 per cent of the votes in the 19 northern states.
Describing Jonathan as “God’s plantation for Nigerians,” Dalhatu expressed optimism that the people would allow such plantation to flourish.
On the marginalisation of the South-South geo-political zone, he noted that the zone was not cheated but that “Their time has not come until now.”
“We will get 70 to 80 percent votes from the North-West; and in the North-East, the home zone of the other aspirant, we will deliver it by 90 percent votes. We assure you that in North-Central, it will be 99 percent while it will be 80 to 90 percent in the South-East,” he said.
Dalhatu recalled that the South-South had always supported the North in the area of politics and that it was time to reciprocate the kind gesture.
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