Amaechi doesn’t know the meaning of betrayal – Opara fires back at Rivers governor Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative, Mr. Austin Opara has replied Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State for calling him a betrayer. Opara, in a reaction, while also addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday wondered how possible it would have been for a Speaker of the State Assembly to have influenced the position of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He said, “How can Governor Amaechi make me the Deputy Speaker when he was not even a member of the National Assembly? The process of electing the presiding officers of the House of Representatives is well known. It is through an election on the floor of the House. “The Southeast representative was disqualified and we met a PDP panel presided over by the then national chairman of the party, Audu Ogbeh. Hon. West Idahosa and Hon. Temi Harriman said that if not that it was Austin Opara who was contesting, they would have contested against me. “I spoke to other Governors of the South-South and sought their supports. Amaechi was only one of those who spoke to Governor Peter Odili to support me. Even before that, I had spoken to other Governors of the zone and appeared before the PDP panel in Hilton hotel. Speaking further, embittered Opara added, “Since the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives was zoned to the south-south, I spoke to all the Governors from the zone and my state Governor. How did Amaechi make me the Deputy Speaker?” Opara queried. The former Deputy Speaker however, denied that he betrayed Governor Amaechi, insisting, the Governor had misplaced contest for betrayal. “How did I betray him? I contested the governorship primary election against him and through the former Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, I was asked to step down and I did. So does contesting the governorship primary election amount to betrayal, may be that is what he means by betrayal? “Ordinarily, I would not have bothered to reply, but because he spoke at the altar and said that he made me and that I betrayed, hence, I am responding to put the records straight. It is unfortunate to see how a State Assembly member can make a presiding officer of one of the arms of National Assembly. “I was the only member of the PDP in Rivers state that was returned unopposed in the primary election in 1999 and also elected a member of the House of Representatives unopposed. We all know how Amaechi became a member of the Rivers state House of Assembly. He lost the election, lost at the tribunal and only won at the appellate arm. We all know what happened.” Opara said.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 13:03:13 +0000