The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has heaped the blame for spiraling unemployment, hunger and insecurity in Rivers State on the Wike administration.
Speaking while receiving two commissioners and other members of the PDP who decamped on Sunday Amaechi said Governor Nyesom Wike is responsible for degrading State investments in agriculture, education and health.
Wike as governor has gone after the legacy programmes of the Amaechi administration, demolishing projects considered revenue earners put in place by his predecessor in office.
But on Sunday, Amaechi took Wike on, accusing him of being a disaster and doing very little in office to embark on people – friendly schemes which would uplift the people, enhance human resource development, create much needed jobs and put food on the breakfast table of Rivers families.
“When I was governor, God knows, I did my best. I did not build only roads, I built schools. I did not build only roads, I built electricity. I built farms. I created employment. Rivers State was not among the highest unemployed community in Nigeria”, the Minister of Transportation declared.
“The reason why crime is high in Rivers State is that unemployment is very high”, Amaechi explained, “That’s the reason why we had the Songhai Farm. Today, the Songhai Farm is gone. That is why we had the Banana Farm that they stopped in Khana.
“That is why we had fish farms and that is why we were building a farm in Etche.
“We were doing all those things to create employment for the youths. That is why we hired 13,200 teachers and that is why we sent our children overseas to study.”
The crowd roared, chanting pro-party slogans as Amaechi delivered the bomb, “Rivers State is in danger, completely; a state where properties are collected; and somebody is busy building everywhere and nobody is talking.”
Nobody has until now dared to say anything about Wike and the acquired properties.
Across the State, particularly in official circles, the rumour of Wike’s alleged use of his position to snatch land has been spreading everywhere.
It is even alleged that Julius Berger which is responsible for roads and bridges is also engaged in the development of property for Wike and his cronies.
Only recently, the Rivers APC through its Spokesman wondered what was behind the hasty payments made to Julius Berger.
The APC wondered if there were other considerations beneath the actions of Government in favour of the German firm and the penchant for building overland bridges in Port Harcourt and Obio /Akpor.
In dealing with the matter, the Minister pointedly accused Wike of openly diverting state funds to the acquisition of personal properties and wasting scarce state resources.
Providing a basis for analytical comparison between the vision of his own government and the mission of the Wike administration, Amaechi remarked:
“I felt that you employed me. I was not your master; I was your servant. I was not a contractor. I paid contractors so that they can pay their workers and the money will circulate.”
Already, a debate is raging on in public over the conduct of the Wike administration.
While some say there is nothing wrong with Wike’s handling of security issues, most others think he has failed woefully in keeping the Rivers people safe and happy.
Hours later, Wike replied through Kelvin Ebiri, his SA on Media, saying Amaechi and the Federal Government were responsible for insecurity in the State.
“It is a well-known fact that Amaechi is the one who appoints every Commissioner of Police that has been posted to Rivers State since 2015. So, if there is any security failure, he is to blame”, Ebiri claimed.