Two weeks ago, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, was agog when the Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, held a mega rally. The rally, according to the organisers was to celebrate his (Amaechi) Supreme Court victory after it sacked Celestine Omehia and installed him as governor of the oil rich state seven years ago and also to prove to President Goodluck Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that contrary to President Jonathan’s remark at the South-South solidarity rally held in Benin City, the Edo State capital where he (Jonathan) allegedly said that “PDP will take over Rivers State in 2015? and that the APC only exists on billboards in the state, he (Amaechi) is capable of pulling a mammoth crowd and he did.
No doubt the 40, 000 capacity stadium was filled to the brim. The governor made so many statements, mostly uncomplimentary against the president. He accused Mr. President of neglecting Rivers State, saying that the people need not be punished because of his criticism of the president. He also said that one of the gubernatorial aspirants on PDP platform collected N3billion contract to build roads but abandoned the project and pocketed the MONEY
. He ended by saying, “and now, he wants to become Governor. A thief will not be our governor”.
. He ended by saying, “and now, he wants to become Governor. A thief will not be our governor”.
He urged the people of Rivers State not to vote for any PDP candidate in the presidential and governorship elections.
Not only that he blamed the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for not dealing with the ‘contractor’ for pocketing the N3 billion that was paid to him to construct the road leading to the stadium where, incidentally, the mega rally held. But the question a lot of people have been seeking answers from him since he made the allegation is if he reported the ‘paddy, paddy contractor’ he paid the staggering N3 billion to, to the anti corruption agency before blaming the agency for doing nothing about the case? At what time also did he become friends of thieves? Is the person he said he gave the contract a certified contractor? What previous contract has this person executed that makes him/her qualified to be given N3b worth of contract which the likes of Julius Berger are supposed to ordinarily handle? At what point did Amaechi discover that the contract was not executed and did he immediately report the ‘paddy, paddy contractor’ to the relevant security agents? Is it that Amaechi is now shouting because they have fallen apart? When the going was good, why did he not sound the alarm? If President Goodluck Jonathan has climbed the podium to say he gave some ‘friends’ contract of N10 billion and the contract was not executed, will Amaechi not be the first to tongue lash Mr. President? How can Amaechi have thieves as his friends? Or is this a case of the age long proverb of show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. Amechi should have known that his friends are thieves and so would not have given them contract or MONEY which they are now using to fight him. Others have also said that Amaechi deserves whatever treatment he is getting from his friends as according to them, “he did a similar thing to his predecessor, Dr. Peter Odili who practically set him up in life. “What goes around comes around. Why is Amaechi complaining? Did he not do the same thing, if not worse, to his benefactor and predecessor, Odili. Did he not probe the man and practically drove him (Odili) into exile in Abuja. The people that are fighting him now were the same people whom he used to fight Odili. So he should just bear it,” Tonye Maxwell, a Port Harcourt resident said. “They are only deceiving us, the electorate. Before you know it now, he will settle with them and they will become friends again. Has he not settled with Odili after all that grandstanding of probing him?
which they are now using to fight him. Others have also said that Amaechi deserves whatever treatment he is getting from his friends as according to them, “he did a similar thing to his predecessor, Dr. Peter Odili who practically set him up in life. “What goes around comes around. Why is Amaechi complaining? Did he not do the same thing, if not worse, to his benefactor and predecessor, Odili. Did he not probe the man and practically drove him (Odili) into exile in Abuja. The people that are fighting him now were the same people whom he used to fight Odili. So he should just bear it,” Tonye Maxwell, a Port Harcourt resident said. “They are only deceiving us, the electorate. Before you know it now, he will settle with them and they will become friends again. Has he not settled with Odili after all that grandstanding of probing him?
“Amaechi may not know it that he has set a dangerous precedence in the polity of Rivers State by awarding contract to his friends who are not certified road construction firms and still has the guts to stand on a podium to tell Nigerians that the friend pocketed the contract MONEY without executing the contract. This can only happen in Nigeria. Very soon, public office holders will begin to regal Nigerians of how taxpayers’ monies are shared among themselves and nothing will come out of it. After all, there is a precedent in Amaechi and his friends.”
without executing the contract. This can only happen in Nigeria. Very soon, public office holders will begin to regal Nigerians of how taxpayers’ monies are shared among themselves and nothing will come out of it. After all, there is a precedent in Amaechi and his friends.”
It will be recalled that this is the second time Ameachi has accused certain persons in Rivers State of collecting MONEY without delivering on their promises.
without delivering on their promises.
At the meet the people tour, sometime ago, while explaining reasons why some roads in the state are yet to be repaired he said: “Almost 80 percent of those fighting me today are people who I have given billions of naira in contracts and they have put theMONEY in their pockets, they did not deliver and they claim they are Ikwerre people.”
in their pockets, they did not deliver and they claim they are Ikwerre people.”
Amaechi has gradually become a full controversial personality if not the most controversial governor in this dispensation. Amaechi had a running battle with the then Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Joseph Mbu. Ditto Patience Jonathan. Even if some of the issues were not caused by him, he has remained so critical of President Goodluck Jonathan’s policies and his person that it seems as if there is more to it. And one is forced to think if it is the same office he is pouring vituperations on he wants his fellow APC member to occupy.
Amaechi will do himself a world of good by concentrating on giving his people dividends of democracy for the remaining days in office. He should strive to leave a long, lasting, positive legacy in the minds and hearts of the people of Rivers State and finish strong the way he started. He should stop the bickering and do the needful for his people.
Source: dailyindependent
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