TheCable

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state says the call for the suspension of  Rotimi Amaechi and Ogbonnaya Onu is a distraction.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the demand after the judges who accused both ministers of corruption were suspended by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

In a statement on Saturday, Davies Ikanya, chairman of the party in Rivers state, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard the call, saying Amaechi and Onu never committed any crime

“PDP call is fraudulent, unnecessary, a distraction from the real problems of fighting corruption in the judiciary,” he said.

“They should allow Mr. President fight corruption without their childish, partisan distractions. President Buhari’s fight against corruption is about Nigeria and moving Nigeria forward.

“It is a known fact that embattled Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and John Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court who are currently under DSS investigation for serious corruption charges only resorted to the cheap, convenient, everyday reaction of people caught red-handed committing crimes in order to divert attention away from the grave reality confronting them especially when faced with sufficient evidence.

“Indeed, it is even more disconcerting that PDP in the said call, refused to recognise the naked fact that by accusing the ministers of attempting to induce them to pervert the course of justice, the accused Hon. Justices introduced unrelated allegations against innocent persons unconnected with the matter for which they are being investigated, something that many accused persons easily, conveniently and cheaply resort to when caged.

“The questions that quickly come to mind include: were the huge sums of money reportedly found in their homes given to them by the ministers they are accusing? Do the petitions for which the justices are being investigated have anything to do with Amaechi or Onu? Are justices of the Supreme Court unaware that relevant laws of the land imposes on them the strict duty to properly and formally report inducement of any kind in a timely manner or risk prison term of not less than 2 years?

“We urge Mr. President and Nigerians to completely disregard PDP call for the sacking of Amaechi and Onu. Why should they be sacked? What crime did they commit for PDP to call for their sack? These fine gentlemen did nothing wrong.

“Mr. President should not and cannot act based on mere accusations from the supreme court justices without any iota of proof or evidence to back their claims. And we should not forget that these Justices only started making these false accusations against Amaechi and Onu, after they were arrested by the DSS.”

The Rivers APC chairman said the PDP should be calling for the sack of its governors who have been allegedly involved in the pervasion of justice.

“Yes, as a party, we re-affirm our belief that the PDP governors and Senate Minority Leader who perverted justice and then turned around to orchestrate wrongful and false accusations against the transportation minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi through the supreme court Justices in order to cover their tracks, crime, distract attention and destroy Amaechi, are the ones that the PDP should expel from their party, banish from politics and call for their resignation or sacking,” it read.