Amaechi’s Insecurity Outbursts Against Ateke Draw Angst Across Rivers …Okrikans Seek Retraction, Apology

Following the false insecurity alarm and inflammatory comments made against the Amayanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Tom, by the Minister of Transportation and former governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, the people of Okrika Local Government of the state have described as ridiculous and callous, Amaechi’s outbursts, saying that he lacks respect for the ancient Okochiri Kingdom, the entire Okrikans as well as the Ijaw nation.
The Okrikans also averred that they were not taken unawares by the rude comments and insults unleashed on their revered king by the minister, and attributed such behaviour to his alleged lack of proper upbringing, which they said, cannot be compensated for, through political opportunism.
It would be recalled that Amaechi had, during the funeral service in honour of the late elder statesman and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Adolphus Karibi-White at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Abonnema, last Saturday, made unguarded comments, saying “everyone is scared, we are going back to when Ateke Tom held sway. We are running away from our people”.
The statement, which has been wildly condemned and criticised, did not go down well with the people of the area, and indeed, groups and organizations within the state and the Ijawland.
Speaking to journalists in Okrika, the Chairman of Okochiri Kingdom Council of Chiefs, Chief Jackson Adoki Ibiteinbo, condemned the statement in its entirety, and urged Amaechi to tender unreserved apology to their revered monarch and the entire people of Okrikan over his uncomplimentary remarks against the Sekuro of the Niger Delta and the Amanyanabo of ancient Okochiri Kingdom.
On the contrary, Ibiteinbo said that Ateke was doing his best to maintain peace not only in Okochiri Kingdom and the state but in the entire Niger Delta.
“The people of Okochiri Kingdom, like all Wakirike people, are peace loving people but not cowards, and will want to call on the former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to take his uncouth mouth to the arena of jackals where he is a chief.
“As a kingdom, we are appalled at the callous manner Amaechi has exhibited his lack of respect for the ancient Kingdom of Okochiri, but not surprised because the lack of proper upbringing cannot be compensated for by political opportunism.
“We condemn this in its totality, and call for caution as we will no longer entertain such despicable and uncultured behaviour, which he has exhibited at every given opportunity”, he stated.
According to him, while Amaechi was the governor of the state, he wasn’t short of such conduct as he insulted, harassed and disrespected traditional rulers at will, including the traditional ruler of Abonema in whose domain he made such disparaging remarks on the person of King Ateke Tom.
He said that Amaechi should know that his incessant hatred for Ateke was public knowledge, and has become a source of concern for the people.
“May we remind him that as the minister of transportation, all he has given to Rivers people as projects are his hatred, division, bloodbath and oppression, while the present governor employs every means to repair the damage.
“Amaechi is a man who never sees anything good in other people’s effort; he doesn’t understand what true politics without hatred in the spirit of sportsmanship is all about.
“Let him know that King Ateke Tom doesn’t need him (Amaechi) for anything on earth. Therefore, whatever opinion or grudge he holds against King Ateke Tom is not new to us, as such, he should perpetually bury his head in shame”, he stated.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Okrika Divisional Council of Chiefs, Chief Dere Biemgbo Ofokomie, said the comments by the former governor were not only designed to defame King Ateke Tom but to also undermine the entire Okrikans and others of Niger Delta extraction, adding that the Okochiri monarch has earned international recognition for his peace efforts in the country.
“King Ateke Tom is a man of peace, and everybody can testify that he has been fighting criminalities in the Niger Delta”, adding that because of Ateke, Okrika Local Government Area was the most peaceful LGA in the state.
In their various speeches, the President of Wakirike Youth Federation, Comrade Charles Melford; and Coordinator, Sekuro of Niger Delta, Chief Toku Adokiye, while condemning the former state governor’s comments, urged President Muhammandu Buhari to carry out a fatherly evaluation on the minister of transportation’s mental health status with a view to ascertaining his problems and provide appropriate remedies.