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How I Made Wike Minister, Opara, Deputy Speaker – Amaechi
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi addressing APC faithful
Rivers State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has told the Ogbakor Ikwerre Convention, the socio-cultural body of Ikwerre people in Rivers State, the role he played in the appointment of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike as Minister and Chief Austin Opara as Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives in 2003.
Like Amaechi, both Wike and Opara are from the Ikwerre ethnic group, the largest ethnic group in Rivers State.
However, both Wike and Opara are now leading the fight against Amaechi in Rivers State.
Amaechi spoke last Sunday evening at the 199th Convention of the Ikwerre Cultural Oganization, worldwide held at Ahai Ogbakiri in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.
He lamented that, despite his contributions to give the Ikwerre ethnic nationality a face-lift and give it a pride of place in Rivers State and on the national stage, he had been betrayed by his brothers who are conniving with outsiders to fight him for their personal selfish interests.
“Gradually, we are beginning to wind up in government, and I have started counting either my blessings or losses, one-by-one as a Governor of Rivers State for all Rivers people but from Ikwerre ethnic nationality. I have started asking: What have I done for Ikwerre people? And I am convinced that the Ikwerre history cannot be complete if my name is not mentioned.
“I am not saying this because I am the governor. As speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I ensured that most partS of Ikwerre have roads, the ones that didn’t get then, when I became governor, they got roads. Only a few communities may not have roads in Ikwerre now, and before we go, I will make sure they have roads like most parts of the state. We will ensure that those communities have roads. As Speaker, I asked for the grading of this Ogbakiri Road”.
Amaechi said, “you will ask me apart from these, what have you done? The basic thing we need in Ikwerre is empowerment. You will not recognise it until you take the list of our scholarship programme in the state and know how many of our children are overseas studying. They are quite many and I have met them at different airports. How I know them is because, they greet me in Ikwerre when they see me.”
“I have asked myself, apart from those who are fighting me, how many Ikwerre sons and daughters have one way or the other benefitted from me? When you see Nyesom Wike, tell him I nominated him to be minister. I have one witness sitting here today. Chief Sampson Agbaru is my witness. He led other prominent sons and daughters of Ikwerre to see President Goodluck Jonathan and the President told them that he had not known Nyesom Wike from Adam, that when Amaechi brought Wike’s name, he (Jonathan) opposed it, the President opposed the appointment of my former Chief of Staff as minister.”
“He (President Jonathan) opposed him (Wike) and I begged President Jonathan severally and consistently because I wanted Wike to be Minister. But today, Nyesom Wike has betrayed me for selfish reasons.
“Also, by the grace of God, I made Chief Austin Opara, Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives. God used me. Prominent politicians met me and told me that there cannot be two captains in a boat, if I make Austin Opara, Deputy Speaker, I might not be the political leader in Ikwerre. But I said, I want my people to benefit, and I picked Austin’s name, and we battled to make him Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives in 2003.”
The state chief executive further lamented how Opara allegedly master minded his arrest and detention in 2006.
“In 2006, I was arrested through the machinery of Austin Opara and was detained for one day, meanwhile, he was supposedly one of my supporters to be governor.
“Among those I have also helped, who are now fighting me, is Prof. Simeon Achinewhu, as Vice-Chancellor of Rivers State University of Science and Technology. Achinewhu was sick and at the point of death, and I flew him out of the country for medical treatment, but he is now one of those accusing me and writing against me in the papers.
“For those I gave contracts, they are so many for me to mention, but, if they deny, call the Ogbakor Ikwerre Convention and summon them, I will come here and mention them one-by-one. For instance, Paul Nwonodi is one of them. He is now fighting me and writing and signing all sorts of petition against me. They are people without character, they have no character. They would easily betray anyone.”
“Also, when Ikwerre people met at Aba-Ndele, and told me they wanted roads, I went to the governor (then Dr Peter Odili) and pushed, and roads were constructed. The ones the governor did not do, when I became governor, I did them in the same way as I was doing the roads in other parts of the state. I have told Chief Andrew Uchendu that before the expiration of my tenure, I will make sure I complete all internal roads in Isiokpo and I am also considering the internal roads in Ogbakiri.”
He equally urged the Ogbakor Ikwerre to join forces with other well-meaning Rivers people to resist the plan by the Federal Government to intimidate and influence the votes through the use of police to harass innocent citizens during the elections.
“We will survive the federal might and the way to survive it is to mobilise our people. We must prepare now to chase away those against our people. The President says, he is an Ijaw man, he should not take the oil wells from the Kalabari people”, Amaechi said.
Amaechi also promised that he would remain a detribalised leader until his tenure expires in 2015.
Speaking, President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Convention, Professor Augustine Ahiazu described the current wave of politicking in the state as alarming, saying that it can cause permanent injury to individuals and the various communities.
“Bitterness in politics can result in undue hatred among friends and relations. It can breed division and polarisation. It can also bring conflict and destruction. Ikwerre sons and daughters should come together to fight any plans for violence in Port Harcourt, because any violence in Port Harcourt is violence in Ikwerre land”, Professor Ahiazu said.
