RIVERS
State Governor Rotimi Amaechi spoke yesterday – for the first time – on
his presence at the House of Assembly when five lawmakers attempted to
impeach the Speaker. There are 32 lawmakers in the House.
Amaechi said he went to the Assembly to restore order, which had broken
down when the five lawmakers, who are believed to be associates of
Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike, attempted to impeach
Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree.
The governor spoke at the Chatham
House in Central London where he delivered a lecture on “Resource and
governance in Nigeria”. But the audience asked him about the political
crisis in the state, particularly why he went to the Assembly on July 9.
He said: “When I heard the members of the Assembly had been attacked by
thugs, I went there with my security attache to rescue them because the
police assigned to the Assembly had been compromised.“I abhor
violence. The first thing to condemn are the policemen who had refused
to perform their duties of protecting the lawmakers.”
Amaechi also
said that the current political crisis involving him was “based on the
assumption that I want to run for 2015 elections”.
“But again, there
is no law that criminalises ambition in Nigeria, It is sad because
people do everything to bring you down. If this crisis continues, one
group will lose and that is the people of Rivers State.”
“Should the state suffer for the so-called ambition of the governor?” he asked.
A crowd of Rivers State’s indigenes was at Chatham House.
They carried placards, praising Amaechi’s good work. Many of them are
students enjoying the state’s scholarship scheme designed to improve
manpower.
Chaired by the British MP Richard Fuller, the vice
chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria in the House of
Commons, the session was part of Chatham House’s African dialogue
series. Home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham
House regularly invites Nigerian politicians to the UK to participate in
its discussions about how Africa is developing.
Outlining a
catalogue of achievements his administration can boast of since assuming
office in 2007, Amaechi reeled off a list that included infrastructural
projects, agricultural plantations, sending hundreds of students on
scholarship to the UK and Canada and the massive funding of education.
He said 500 primary schools had been built during his tenure and 250
more would be inaugurated starting from October.
Amaechi said: “The
academic structure we inherited was very bad as many children could not
stay in school and those who did got a very poor education. We are
building schools and uniforms, sandals, bags and books are free, while
with healthcare, we have built 60 health centres and 70 more will be
commissioned before the end of the year.
“We send 300 every year to
the UK and Canada on scholarship and we have established palm oil and
banana plantations that employ workers. By the end of our tenure, we
would have laid the foundation for a more robust and less oil-dependent
economy in Rivers State.”
Speaking about his recent political
troubles, Amaechi said they all began when it was suspected that he had
higher political ambitions for 2015. Stressing that he has not declared
for any position yet, the governor said the impact of the clampdown was
that several projects had been put on ice by the Federal Government.
Amaechi said: “When the Federal Government suspects that you have an
ambition, they do everything to bring you down. For instance, we have
two helicopters to monitor security that they have refused permission to
be brought into the country and they have frustrated plans we have to
open a syringe manufacturing factory in Rivers State.
“Even if they
have an issue with me, why should the whole of Rivers State suffer? We
have numerous projects which we have signed agreements with the Federal
Government to introduce and implement but since this crisis began, they
have suspended all of them and the people feeling it are the ordinary
people of Rivers State.”
Stressing that Rivers State has the second
largest economy in Nigeria, the governor said he is of the opinion that
good political leadership could improve things further. However, he
added that the political culture in Nigeria where politicians believe
they are doing the people a favour is a huge impediment as is the
refusal of certain people to leave the political scene.
According to
Amaechi, certain politicians have remained on the scene despite having
nothing more to offer because they have no other means of earning a
living.
Stressing that the crisis in Rivers State threatens
security, Amaechi said that some of the militant groups that had been
disbanded are being used to cause mayhem and protest against his
administration. He added that on the day there was a fracas in the
Assembly, many of these thugs were brought in with the connivance of the
Police.
Amaechi said: “I used to be the speaker of the house and
the law is that you are not even allowed to bring your walking stick in
when entering. How did these people manage to bring in thugs, weapons, a
fake mace and cause mayhem while the police were not only looking on
buy aiding them?”
He pointed out that the violence started long
before the recording seen on the widely circulated Youtube began when
five Assemblymen smuggled a fake mace into the House and used their
hoodlums to create chaos. According to Amaechi, after the police
commissioner refused to do anything about it, he went there with his
security detail and it was they who eventually restored order.
Source: The Nation
State Governor Rotimi Amaechi spoke yesterday – for the first time – on
his presence at the House of Assembly when five lawmakers attempted to
impeach the Speaker. There are 32 lawmakers in the House.
Amaechi said he went to the Assembly to restore order, which had broken
down when the five lawmakers, who are believed to be associates of
Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike, attempted to impeach
Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree.
The governor spoke at the Chatham
House in Central London where he delivered a lecture on “Resource and
governance in Nigeria”. But the audience asked him about the political
crisis in the state, particularly why he went to the Assembly on July 9.
He said: “When I heard the members of the Assembly had been attacked by
thugs, I went there with my security attache to rescue them because the
police assigned to the Assembly had been compromised.“I abhor
violence. The first thing to condemn are the policemen who had refused
to perform their duties of protecting the lawmakers.”
Amaechi also
said that the current political crisis involving him was “based on the
assumption that I want to run for 2015 elections”.
“But again, there
is no law that criminalises ambition in Nigeria, It is sad because
people do everything to bring you down. If this crisis continues, one
group will lose and that is the people of Rivers State.”
“Should the state suffer for the so-called ambition of the governor?” he asked.
A crowd of Rivers State’s indigenes was at Chatham House.
They carried placards, praising Amaechi’s good work. Many of them are
students enjoying the state’s scholarship scheme designed to improve
manpower.
Chaired by the British MP Richard Fuller, the vice
chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria in the House of
Commons, the session was part of Chatham House’s African dialogue
series. Home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham
House regularly invites Nigerian politicians to the UK to participate in
its discussions about how Africa is developing.
Outlining a
catalogue of achievements his administration can boast of since assuming
office in 2007, Amaechi reeled off a list that included infrastructural
projects, agricultural plantations, sending hundreds of students on
scholarship to the UK and Canada and the massive funding of education.
He said 500 primary schools had been built during his tenure and 250
more would be inaugurated starting from October.
Amaechi said: “The
academic structure we inherited was very bad as many children could not
stay in school and those who did got a very poor education. We are
building schools and uniforms, sandals, bags and books are free, while
with healthcare, we have built 60 health centres and 70 more will be
commissioned before the end of the year.
“We send 300 every year to
the UK and Canada on scholarship and we have established palm oil and
banana plantations that employ workers. By the end of our tenure, we
would have laid the foundation for a more robust and less oil-dependent
economy in Rivers State.”
Speaking about his recent political
troubles, Amaechi said they all began when it was suspected that he had
higher political ambitions for 2015. Stressing that he has not declared
for any position yet, the governor said the impact of the clampdown was
that several projects had been put on ice by the Federal Government.
Amaechi said: “When the Federal Government suspects that you have an
ambition, they do everything to bring you down. For instance, we have
two helicopters to monitor security that they have refused permission to
be brought into the country and they have frustrated plans we have to
open a syringe manufacturing factory in Rivers State.
“Even if they
have an issue with me, why should the whole of Rivers State suffer? We
have numerous projects which we have signed agreements with the Federal
Government to introduce and implement but since this crisis began, they
have suspended all of them and the people feeling it are the ordinary
people of Rivers State.”
Stressing that Rivers State has the second
largest economy in Nigeria, the governor said he is of the opinion that
good political leadership could improve things further. However, he
added that the political culture in Nigeria where politicians believe
they are doing the people a favour is a huge impediment as is the
refusal of certain people to leave the political scene.
According to
Amaechi, certain politicians have remained on the scene despite having
nothing more to offer because they have no other means of earning a
living.
Stressing that the crisis in Rivers State threatens
security, Amaechi said that some of the militant groups that had been
disbanded are being used to cause mayhem and protest against his
administration. He added that on the day there was a fracas in the
Assembly, many of these thugs were brought in with the connivance of the
Police.
Amaechi said: “I used to be the speaker of the house and
the law is that you are not even allowed to bring your walking stick in
when entering. How did these people manage to bring in thugs, weapons, a
fake mace and cause mayhem while the police were not only looking on
buy aiding them?”
He pointed out that the violence started long
before the recording seen on the widely circulated Youtube began when
five Assemblymen smuggled a fake mace into the House and used their
hoodlums to create chaos. According to Amaechi, after the police
commissioner refused to do anything about it, he went there with his
security detail and it was they who eventually restored order.
Source: The Nation
