2023: Shun Differences, Vote Tinubu, APC, Amaechi Tells Supporters

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has appealed to his supporters not to be angry but cast their votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.

Amaechi made this appeal on Saturday, July 1, 2022, in Port Harcourt, Rivers state. He told supporters not to be discouraged by the outcome of the APC presidential primaries but to go all out and ensure the party emerges victorious at the polls.

Recall, Amaechi emerged second during the ruling party primaries in Abuja, losing out to former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu

owever, addressing thousands of his supporters who came to welcome him and followed him from the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, to the APC state secretariat in Port Harcourt, Amaechi said no matter their feelings about the outcome of the primaries, APC is the party they must vote for.

He said: “Please, in the contest for the presidency, we should know that we must go and vote for our party, no matter how angry you are, they have chosen, let’s go and vote for our party.

“For the stories you hear about the people who are gossiping how they are having meetings in France, let this be your own France. Vote for your party, don’t be afraid, just go home and do your work.

“Don’t be afraid, go home and work, that’s why I came, I came to thank you, I came to urge you to go home and work, let all of us be unit leaders, no more local government leaders, ward leaders.”

He assured them that rigging of elections has been reduced to the barest minimum and their votes will definitely count.

If you check in INEC, they are no longer announcing ward results, they are announcing unit results. So let go home and win our units and bring our units home.

“Those days of meeting, writing results have all gone, we must praise INEC, praise the National Assembly for reducing the level of rigging, where people write results and INEC will just announce, now it is almost gone,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had yesterday spurned media reports suggesting that he met with Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, in France as part of consultations ahead of the 2023 general polls.

Tinubu who is said to be in France for a continuation of high-level engagements with stakeholders, refuted the claim by a chieftain of the APC and aide to Lagos State governor, Joe Igbokwe, that he had a meeting with Wike in that country.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his media office, Tinubu said even though he holds Governor Wike in high esteem, such a meeting never took place.

The statement signed by Tunde Rahman titled, “Asiwaju Tinubu’s supposed meeting with Governor Wike in France is Fake News,” noted: “We have seen a viral social media post made by one of the chieftains of All Progressives Congress in Lagos State and media reports emanating from same about a supposed meeting in France between APC Presidential Standard-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and His Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

“It has become imperative to set the record straight. Although Asiwaju Tinubu is presently in France, he didn’t have any meeting with Governor Wike whether in that country or anywhere whatsoever.

“This, however, does not detract from the fact that the APC presidential candidate holds Governor Wike in high esteem. And given the national and across-party lines appeal of Asiwaju Tinubu’s candidature, he will not hesitate to meet any important national leader when desirable.

“As made public earlier, Asiwaju Tinubu is in France for some important engagements. He will return to the country shortly. We would like, once again, to advise journalists to always cross-check their information with appropriate officers before rushing to press to avoid unintended errors,” the statement said.