Outgoing Governor of Rivers State, Hon. Chibuike
Amaechi, has said that the governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike, was in
for difficult times as there would be no money to run the state.
He stated that Nigeria was lucky that Gen. Muhammad Buhari won the presidential elections, adding that his administration would bring the nation out of its financial doldrums.
The service, with the theme: ‘I will bless the Lord,’ according to the organisers, was to “Celebrate God’s faithfulness throughout the electioneering period.”
Amaechi said: “God answered our prayers to save us. He also answered our prayers to save Nigeria. I’m not joking, we have no money anywhere. In Rivers State, no money. I think Nyesom Wike is coming, we are waiting. He will look for money for salary; there is none. Luckily for us, we endured these pains because we had to pay our loans.
“We are enduring the pain because we are paying our loans. Maybe he is lucky because we have paid out a lot of our loans if not all. So, he will have to manage. But when he pays out salary, we will see if any of them can do what we did in this state: whether they can build the schools, the roads, even to get a loan.”
Amaechi also stated that no security operative involved in electoral malpractice in the last elections in the state would go unpunished.
He alleged that a newly promoted Commissioner of Police, Mr. John Amadi, who served as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in-charge of Operations in the state, during the general election, plotted to eliminate him.
His words: “I will say to all of you that there is a man called John Amadi, former Deputy Commissioner of Police, who sat down and ran a programme to embarrass the APC and embarrass the incoming federal government; even after Buhari had won the presidency. Now, to embarrass us further, I hear he has been promoted to a Commissioner of Police and transferred out of Port Harcourt. He will come back. John Amadi will come back; you will see. The only way he will not come back is if we don’t form government, but if we form government, he will account for his actions.
“After John Amadi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Khana said it is mutiny to take on the federal government, and sat down and fought APC as if he was a PDP member. I don’t know whether he has been promoted or not, but if he has been promoted, he will also come back. That one does not require a judge. The Inspector General of Police (IG) can promote them as he wants; he can even promote them up Assistant Inspector-General of Police, but they must all account for their actions.
“John Amadi intended to kill me and I will tell you how. On my way to my village to go and vote, I ran into some criminals attacking an APC member and I stopped. I stopped with the intention to rescue the gentle man and arrest those people, as governor. I did not know that they had given instruction to my own security not to obey me.
“So, when I told the policemen to arrest them, they were just standing. On further inquiries, I was told that we were told not to go anywhere they were voting. When I asked the C4I to reinforce security, John Amadi called them back and asked them to leave there. The only thing that saved me and saved the situation was that the Brigade Commander sent in soldiers.
“The soldiers sent the criminals away and the people were speaking my language saying, ‘somebody will die here now’ and who was that somebody, other than me? My SSS men were watching, my policemen were watching and my life was at risk. I am supposed to be the governor of Rivers State; the so-called Chief Security Officer.”
The Rivers governor however recollected what he went through in his quest, first to become the Speaker of the state House of Assembly and, later, the governor and declared that this was another moment of trial for the state.
“The president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, is a man of rule of law. He will not punish anybody without following due process. Let us ask the incoming federal government to punish whoever contravened the law.
“What is happening in Rivers State is not new; this is another time of trial. Rivers people can choose to pray and fast as we did when I was to become the Speaker.
“This is the time to call God because without Him we are going nowhere. I prayed and fasted for 10 months while in Ghana and God answered our prayers.
“This time, though I will join in the fasting and prayer but I am not the governorship candidate. My own is to thank and appreciate God for what I have become; from being a Speaker to governor and now soon a retiree,” he said.
Also speaking, the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in his testimony, said he and his party faithful went through political violence and turbulence during the electioneering period and thanked God that the casualty was minimal.
According to him, the party and its members, from January, through the March 28 and April 11 elections, were visited with series of persecution, and singled out Eleme, Tai and Okrika local government areas as the places where the casualties were mostly recorded.
Peterside however expressed optimism that the elections tribunal would give judgment in his favour.
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