Face PH Airport, Leave Wike Alone, RSG Tells Amaechi

The Rivers State Government has described the claim by the former governor of the state, Chibuike Amaechi that Governor Nyesom Wike was not tackling security challenges in the state as a ploy to divert attention from his failure to complete the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, or attract any single project to the state despite the huge funds he diverted to the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2015 elections.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, last Saturday, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Barrister Emma Okah advised Amaechi to redeem his fading image by attracting Federal Government projects to Rivers State like his contemporaries in APC from other states are doing.
“In his time as a minister, Governor Nyesom Wike was a shining star, and brought several projects to Rivers State, including the renovation of the secondary school in Ubima,” Amaechi’s village”, Okah said.
On security, Okah said Amaechi was economical with the truth by playing down on Wike’s efforts.
“When Amaechi was governor, high profile kidnap cases were recurring and violent crimes littered his space. Hon Charles Nsiegbe was killed right under his nose. Amb Ignatius Ajuru was also killed. Archbishop Ignatius Kattey was kidnapped, Prof Nimi Briggs was also kidnapped”, Okah said, noting that “under Governor Nyesom Wike, the tide is very low.
“Rather than living in a faded past or demarketing his state, Amaechi should concern himself with what he is doing today as a stakeholder to improve the security of lives and property of the people that gave him the finest opportunities in life,” Okah added.
“Security is a federal concern, and as a government, Rivers State has sufficiently funded the security agencies to perform optimally. And despite provocations from the SARS, we have never denied them support”, he said, pointing out that the security agencies were generally doing a good job in Rivers State.
“I hope Amaechi has not forgotten how he refused to fund the police in Rivers State because the commissioner of police then was not doing his bidding of arresting and detaining his political opponents,” Okah reminded the former governor.
The Tide reports that the Rivers State Government has repeatedly accused Amaechi of using his federal position to compromise the security architecture of the state by influencing frequent changing of commissioners of police to the state.
The state government has also severally complained of Amaechi’s tacit support to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) despite the litany of accusations of kidnapping, robbery, extortion, rape and criminality rained on the police unit by residents of the state.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana