The Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, to stop his 2015 governorship campaign. He advised him to face the strike by the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), yesterday, in a telephone interview, stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must call Wike to order, for violating its regulation of campaigning only 90 days to elections.
The minister of state for education, however, stated that he was not campaigning for 2015 governorship, asking Amaechi to face infrastructural decay in Rivers State, while alleging that the Rivers governor and his “cohorts” were behind ASUU and ASUP strike to embarrass President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC), through its Chairman, Anyakwee Nsirimovu, declared that the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, must be redeployed forthwith, to ensure peace in the Niger Delta.
Wike is the grand patron of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), while he and members of the group have been moving round the state’s 23 local government areas for GDI’s inauguration and they will be in Etche LG today (Sunday).
Prior to his emergence as the minister of state for education, Wike, a two-term Chairman of Obio/Akpor LG Council, was the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and doubled as the Director-General of Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011.
Amaechi expressed surprise that the minister of state for education, who is now supervising minister of the ministry, was acting as if he was above the law, in view of his closeness to President Jonathan, with INEC leadership being helpless.
He noted that emphasis must be placed on the rule of law and due process, in order not to make mockery of the hard-earned democracy.
The Rivers governor, who spoke through the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, said: “ASUU members have been on strike for over three months. ASUP members decided to resume their suspended strike over Federal Government’s insincerity and inability to honour the agreement signed with the union. Is it not shameful that the Federal Government signed an agreement with ASUU in 2009 and yet to fully implement the terms?
“Whether ASUU and ASUP members are on strike for one year, is not Wike’s business. He is gallivanting all over Rivers State for his 2015 governorship campaign and using President Jonathan as a smokescreen
“The leadership of INEC cannot pretend not to be aware of Wike’s governorship campaign which was transmitted live on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). It is no longer secret.”
He accused the minister of moving round the state to campaign. “You cannot give what you do not have. Wike is dry intellectually and has never practised as a lawyer. He is not interested in qualitative education. He is only after award of contracts for Almajiri schools to his cronies for his cut, without following due process.
“President Jonathan is very happy with Wike’s governorship campaign and activities in Rivers State, believing that he (Wike) is checkmating Governor Amaechi. It is a case of your enemy’s enemy is your friend. The focused and performing NGF Chairman has no problem with Dr. Jonathan.
“Wike’s governorship campaign calls for concern. INEC made it clear that there must be no campaign until 90 days to the elections. Prof. Attahiru Jega, as a man of integrity, must rise to the occasion and call Wike to order.”
The minister of state for education, who spoke through the Secretary-General of the GDI, Samuel Nwanosike, asked well-meaning Nigerians to call Amaechi to order, in order to stop embarrassing Rivers people.
Wike also declared that the people of Rivers State were very proud of President Jonathan, not because his wife, Dame Patience, hails from Okrika in the state, while insisting that the president would be re-elected in 2015, in view of his “impressive” performance.
Nwanosike said: “Wike is not campaigning for 2015. GDI is doing thanksgiving and inauguration at the ward and LGA levels. GDI is a socio-political organisation to promote good governance and not a political party.
“Chief Wike is very successful as a minister of state for education and he is trying his best as the supervising minister of education to resolve the strike by ASUU and ASUP. Amaechi and his cohorts are behind the strike, because of their political interest, to embarrass President Jonathan, who is transforming Nigeria.
“Whether Amaechi and his co-travellers like it or not, President Jonathan will be overwhelmingly re-elected in 2015.”
The minister of state for education added that the NGF chairman was deceiving Rivers people, alleging that the government’s poorly-constructed roads in Port Harcourt and other parts of the state had become an eyesore, in spite of the huge allocations to the crude oil and gas-rich state.
Amaechi had earlier declared that the only condition for peace in the state would be the immediate redeployment of Mbu, for taking sides in the deepening political crisis.
The Senate and the House of Representatives, in separate resolutions, before they proceeded on recess, stated that the police commissioner must be redeployed forthwith, for acting like a politician.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, however, noted that Mbu had been told to be a professional police officer and would remain in Rivers state.
NDCSC, yesterday in Port Harcourt, stated that it was very concerned about the cruel fire set against the fundamental rights and freedom of unsuspecting Rivers citizens, by stationing a government within an elected government by the Presidency, using Mbu as a most retarding instrument.
It said it was not only repugnant to the requirements of the rule of law, but a fundamental abuse of the sovereignty of citizens in a democracy, to freely elect or reject their governors and government.
The group pointed out that it was becoming the worst time to live in the state, stressing that Mbu, instead of being the guardian of effective law enforcement and of good behaviour, was overzealously teaching the geography of impunity, anarchy, chaos and fully guided and funded by the authorities that designed his heinous agenda.
It noted that citizens had wondered where the thundercloud was coming from, until the police commissioner recently chased away 13,000 newly-recruited teachers with teargas at the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt, when they gathered to collect their posting letters.
NDCSC said: “Mr. Mbu’s political policing habit is not only irresponsible, but discriminatory, unethical and unprofessional, failing the test of any civilised global standard of policing. Mr. Mbu, if not stopped immediately, will graduate from throwing teargas canisters on innocent law-abiding citizens, to shooting live bullets at them.”
The group also stated that quite unfortunately, the Rivers police commissioner was creating the impression that he had a duty to protect only the interest of President Jonathan.
NDCSC called on civil society oganisations and the community of democrats globally to take more than a passing interest in a most serious threat to democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens in the state.
It asked President Jonathan to show leadership by reaffirming faith in the fundamental human rights of Nigerians, as one of the highest purposes for his office and save the present and succeeding generations, who might suffer the scourge of inhumanity, if the imminent explosion was allowed to happen. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Bros JONA, Ur actions i.e continual support to Mr WICKED's to make our state ungovernable and failing to remove CP Mr IBU or MBU are making me very uncomfortable. Pls bros before I lose my cool, just take a reasonable action against these two PARASITES.
ReplyDeleteThe general notion that men from core Niger Delta are at best ogogoro drinkers (while their wives engage in serious economic activities) or how else do one explains the comment of Wike. That Amaechi was behind ASUU Strike
ReplyDeleteAmaechi must be the god father of Boko Haram as well!
If these are true then he deserves to be in Aso Rock, as he has a better clout than GEJ. He is likely to be a better president
The problem of GEJ is not only personal but compounded by the drunkards, militants, oil husstlers etc who surrounded him.
Unfortunately, R. Abati has also joined in the drinking party.
God saves Nigeria
I dey laff.........
ReplyDeleteAmaechi has got a point here! ASUU has been on strike for more than 3months and ASUP has resumed its suspended strike, yet Chike is campaigning for Gubernatorial seat while also clamouring for Jonathan's re-election...what do these guys really think? Do they think Nigerians are brainless herd of cattles? Is it by force to lead? If Wike or Jonathan can't get their jobs done, which is quite obvious, let them leave for Christ sake! Things are really getting worse in this country, all 'cos of selfish interests of some selected brainless and unfocused individuals. And more shameful is the fact that some unreasonable bunch of idiots, based on sentiments/religion affiliation/tribalism or whatever their senseless reasons are, will still come and make some obviously baseless comments here. Are you guys deaf and dump? Can't you see that the nation is in a serious mess? Why must you shy away from the truth? Let us all bear in mind that at the end of our lives, we all will give account of our deeds before the Supreme Judge of the whole World - God.
ReplyDeleteMy candid advise to Mr. President is for him to focus on delivering on his electioneering promises and stop all this distractive political manipulations. If that is done, I tell you solemnly: you don't need to campaign for a re-election - when the people see your good works, they will re-elect you!
As for the Rivers police commissioner, it's quite a pity. I really don't blame you 'cos its quite obvious the IG is compromised which is simply the reason for not redeploying you. Come to think of it - how do you ensure peace in a state when the governor, who is the chief security officer of the state and the police commissioner are not in good term? This is a simple arithmetic - redeploy this man, unless of course there are some disastrous reasons behind it, and give the governor a CP he can comfortably work with in the interest of the masses. Are there no men again in the Nigerian Police who can take his place? Mbu is long overdur please. As for you Wike, your cup will soon full unless of course you channel all your time and resources towards addressing this STRIKE issue. I rest my case!