Rivers government, Amaechi trade blame over insecurity

The Governor Nyesom Wike administration and the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, at the weekend traded blame over insecurity in Rivers State.

Amaechi, during a church service for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, in Port Harcourt, alleged that the government felt unconcerned as people were being killed in the state.

“It’s unfortunate I am saying this on camera because it’s like ‘demarketing’ Rivers State when you hear about death. We heard about the killing of up to eight persons just last week. If the governor cannot take charge and people are dying, then there is a need for replacement and for people to vote for their lives.

“We are no longer talking about food now, not about light. We are talking about the right to existence, you have to live. All the shops and houses are empty, people are on the run because nobody can protect them here,” he said.

Amaechi, who is a former governor of the state, explained that Cole and APC members were in church to seek God’s divine direction.

Cole promised that, if elected, he would tackle the insecurity in the state, noting that without addressing the menace holistically, the state would continue to retrogress.

“Without security you can not have business, you can not have peace. Without security our people will continue to suffer, and so our first objective is to tackle insecurity.”

He refuted the allegation that he did not complete the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

“Why would I take a risk and stand here when I don’t have my NYSC certificate? They should go to NYSC and ask. NYSC, I am sure, can answer that question.”

In a reaction, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, advised Amaechi to stay away from Port Harcourt following his claim that the state is unsafe.

Okah accused the minister of speaking out of malice and bitterness.

“Normal people no longer take Amaechi serious because he lives in bitterness. Evidence abound to show that the Rivers State government and the security agencies are doing their best to secure lives and property. Only a deluded or mischievous mind will deny this fact,” he said.

The commissioner declared that in normal climes, a former governor and a serving minister is qualified to be a statesman, but the case of Amaechi is allegedly different as he has maliciously discredited everything the government is doing to develop the state and provide security for the people.

“Amaechi needs to know that any failure of security under our democracy where the governor has played his role is an indictment on the Nigeria Police and other security agencies who are under the control of the Federal Government. Amaechi should ask the heads of security agencies why there are lapses, if any,” the commissioner said.

Okah lamented that instead of the minister to empathise with those who lost their loved ones, he was “spitting on the graves of the deceased and mocking them. He is seeking political mileage with the blood of the innocent and has not supported the state to fight crime since he became minister.

“Rather than allow security agencies to do their work unhindered, Amaechi has continued to politicise the security architecture to achieve only political ends since his stooge lost the guber elections in 2015.”

According to the state government, Amaechi ought to be concerned about why the APC-led Federal Government, under which he is cabinet member, has not been able to address all security challenges in the country despite their superior war chest, resources and imprimatur.

“Amaechi should explain why over 12 million Nigerians lost their jobs since 2015. Is he also alerting Nigerians that his boss is inefficient as President?” Okah queried.