Replying Senator Magnus Abe’s Straw Man’s Argument

I read with utter dismay the Press Statement issued for and on behalf of Senator Abe by his Spokesman, Parry Saroh Benson titled: “My Disagreement With Amaechi Is Political” and it got me thinking how illogical and fallacious people can present their cases. Take a critical at the excerpt from Abe’s Press Statement below:

“For the records, the disagreement between me and the Minister (Amaechi) is political. He is the leader of the party but he has said publicly on several occasions that he can never support me.

“That means the entire country knows that he cannot pretend to be neutral or an unbiased umpire in any matter in which my interest and the interests of those interested in me are concerned. Yet, as the leader it is his responsibility to provide a level playing field for us all.”

From the above statement issued by Senator Abe’s Spokesman, it’s important that we isolate the following words for analysis. The words are: 1. Support. 2. Neutral. 3. Unbiased. 4. Interest. 5. Responsibility.

Support means to give assistance, financially or otherwise. To be neutral means not supporting or helping either side in a conflict or contest. To be unbiased means to be impartial. An umpire watches closely to enforce the rules and arbitrate on matters arising from the game. Responsibility means a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone.

From the foregoing, it’s obvious that Magnus Abe declared war on the Minister of Transportation because he(Amaechi) openly told him he won’t support his ambition. Anybody who knows Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi will tell you that he is a man who says what he means and means what he says. The Minister is a responsible man. Yes, the Minister said he won’t support Abe’s aspiration but encouraged him to present himself for the party’s gubernatorial primary.

Now, the question is; has the Minister opened his mouth one day to say that he is in support of any particular aspirant?
Magnus Abe’s statement became worthless, fallacious and illogical when he said, “…he cannot pretend to be neutral or an unbiased umpire in any matter in which my interest and the interests of those interested in me are concerned…”
Senator Abe, you got it wrong there. Mind you, the Minister is the leader of the party, therefore, giving support to a particular aspirant would mean being biased, partial and his neutrality would be questioned. For your information, the Minister hasn’t given his support to any particular aspirant. The Minister has asked you to run like any other aspirant of the party. The primary will determine who flies the party’s gubernatorial flag in Rivers State.
Methinks that Abe is scared of the party’s primary because he is unpopular. He doesn’t want to compete with other aspirants. He wants the leader to anoint him and exclude others. Too bad!

Senator Magnus Abe lost it, when, out of desperation, he joined forces, clandestinely and openly, with the PDP to fight the APC, a party he claims to be a member. For us, in the APC, Abe is an outcast.
—Achor Omodu.