•‘Amaechi ran failed, dizzyingly-corrupt govt’
Minister of Transportation and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of hiding wanted militants and cultists in the Government House.
Amaechi spoke yesterday on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme. He alleged that the 23 caretaker committee chairmen were known militants.
The former governor, who said his relationship with Wike, his Chief of Staff between 2007 and 2011, became sour because of violence and corruption by his successor, predicted that Saturday’s legislative rerun would be peaceful in view of the assurances given by security agencies.
His words: “Wike is protecting killers; all his caretaker chairmen are known militants. The police recovered arms and ammunition from the home of Soboma Jackrich (chairman of Asari-Toru Council) and Jackrich is now living in the Government House.
“Wike must stop supporting violence by not encouraging the criminals, especially cultists and militants. Wike must allow persons who break the law to be punished. My relationship with Wike became sour, as my Chief of Staff, because of his violence and corruption.
“If a governor wines and dines with cultists and militants, he will embolden the criminals. As Rivers governor, I never sat down with cultists and militants. I did not support the Federal Government’s amnesty offer to repentant militants because you do not compensate criminals.
“Chief Godspower Ake (former Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party) begged me to manage Wike as my Chief of Staff so people won’t notice there was a problem. Chuma Chinye (ex-Commissioner for Commerce and Industry) begged me to recommend Wike for a ministerial appointment in 2011. I accepted so as not to appear stubborn and that’s the worse decision I have made in my life.”
The minister lamented that the people were helpless in view of the deteriorating security, even as he accused governor Wike of failing to protect lives and property, which he swore on oath to do.
Amaechi maintained that cultism could never be attributed to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), whom he described as God-fearing, insisting that only APC members were being killed. He challenged Wike to show Nigerians any PDP member killed.
He also denied harassing a policemen and his claim was corroborated by the police spokesman, Muhammad Ahmad.
Ahmad said: The attention of Rivers State Police Command has been drawn to the news making the rounds that Chibuike R. Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation, on March 12, along Port Harcourt-Omagwa Road, arrested and manhandled a policeman.
“The command wishes to state that the story is untrue and the act did not happen.”
But governor Wike, in his reaction through the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, alleged that Amaechi ran a failed and dizzyingly-corrupt government for eight years.
His words: “Amaechi has been indicted for stealing public fund by a court-approved Judicial Commission of Inquiry in Rivers State.
“His antics are a diversionary campaign to evade justice, through the rigging of the rerun legislative polls this weekend, but he will be defeated and brought to account.”
Wike said Amaechi was fighting for his “political life right now”, saying he understood his deadly desperation.