"Amaechi disclosed to us that he had already assembled security personnel drawn from the Nigerian Army, the Police, DSS and FSARS to provide adequate security cover and embattlement for members of the AAC and APC to effectively rig the governorship election and have us declared as winners come March 9, 2019."
Akpo Bomba Yeeh, former deputy governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in Rivers State, has revealed how Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transport and Director General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, planned to rig the state's governorship election using officials of the Nigeria Army, Police, Department of State Service (DSS) and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS).
Yeeh made the revelation on Monday at a press conference in Port Harcourt, capital of the state, where he announced his defection from the AAC to the Peoples Demovcratic Party (PDP).
He said after he and Biokpomabo Awara emerged the deputy governorship and governorship candidates of the party, there were no campaign actvities to signify their readiness for the election.
"However, 72 hours to the elections, we received the good news that the AAC had been adopted by the Honourable Rotimi Amaechi-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the governorship election, having been barred by the court from fielding any candidate for the general election in the state, save for the presidential election," he said..
"In adopting the AAC, Rotimi Amaechi emphatically assured us that he was going to fund and do every other thing under the sun to give us victory at the polls.
"He further disclosed to us that he had already assembled security personnel drawn from the Nigerian Army, the Police, DSS and FSARS to provide adequate security cover and embattlement for members of the AAC and APC to effectively rig the governorship election and have us declared as winners come March 9, 2019."
But he explained that these promises came with stringent conditions "that confer de facto governance on the Minister of Transport".
"First, he must be the one to appoint 90% of all political office holders, including commissioners, special advisers, chairmen and members of government boards, agencies and parastatals.
"Second, he must be the one to nominate and produce all the 23 local government counciI chairmen and other principal officers of the councils. We, that is Engineer Biokpomabo and my humble self, must consult and take insructions from him on all financial policy and fiscal matters, as well as the award and payment of contracts and other financial transactions upon our inauguration as governor and Deputy Governor of the state."
Yeeh added that in addition, he was forced to "sign an un-dated letter of resignation as the Deputy Governor of Rivers State to pave way for Rotimi Amaechi to nominate another person of his choice as Deputy Governor".
“These were slavish conditions for any rational politician worth his name to accept, but I pretended to play along because doing otherwise at that time would have been too dangerous for the safety of my life, given Rotimi Amaechi's unconcealed desperation to remove Governor Nyesom Wike from office and install his stooge in the person of Engr Awara against all odds," he said.