The Presidency has debunked claims by the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi that President Goodluck Jonathan was deploying oil revenues meant for the state to his (Jonathan) native Bayelsa State.
It said Mr. Amaechi was mischievously packaging a personal interest as group interest in his desperate move to justify his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under which he was elected, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In what he described as “a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul,” the governor, while explaining why he left the PDP for the opposition APC in a statement on Wednesday, alleged that the Jonathan-led federal government had been paying Bayelsa State the revenues due to Rivers State despite a decision reached that the monies derived from the disputed Soku oil well should remain in an escrow account till all matters were resolved.
Bayelsa State was excised from Rivers State in 1996. While Mr Jonathan hails from the former, his wife is an indigene of the latter.
Mr. Amaechi also noted that his administration had made several representations formally and informally on the matter while chiefs and elders from the state had held several meetings and protested the injustice to no avail, adding “as your governor entrusted to keep guard over your commonwealth, we could not keep quiet and allow this grave injustice.”
Mr. Amaechi also revealed that apart from Bayelsa State, oil wells belonging to Rivers State had also been ceded to Akwa Ibom and Abia. According to him, even after the state got judgement that the oil wells were wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom state and should be returned, only dry wells that were no longer producing oil were returned.
Mr. Amaechi listed other reasons why he left the PDP, on whose platform he was elected twice as governor and twice as a member of the State House of Assembly, to include lack of federal presence in Rivers State, refusal of the federal government to reimburse the state government the N103 billion it expended fixing federal roads and alleged discouragement of investments in the state.
But responding to the allegations in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, said Mr. Amaechi was merely pretending to be defending the interest of Rivers people to justify his defection to the APC.
Speaking specifically on the governor’s allegation that Mr Jonathan was paying Bayelsa state revenues derived from the disputed Soku oil wells, Mr. Abati said Mr. Amaechi was engaging in blackmail, insisting that the president only acted as a peacemaker in the matter.
“That is a wrong allegation,” he said. “I am sure he too knows that the matter is between Bayelsa and Rivers and that what the President did was to act as a peacemaker in the matter.
“To say that the president favours Baylesa is sheer blackmail. The president is the father of everybody. If he is going to APC that is fine, but for him to package a personal interest as group interest is utterly mischievous.”
Mr. Abati explained that the matter was now before the National Boundary Commission, NBC, adding that the Commission would be willing to give details on that if contacted.
The president’s spokesperson said Mr Amaechi was exaggerating his importance and pretending to be the messiah of Rivers people, wondering if those celebrating his exit from the ruling PDP were not indigenes of the state.
“Those who danced on the streets of Port Harcourt, carrying placards condemning him, are they not Rivers people?” he said.
“How can he now say he is protecting the interest of Rivers people? He is pretending to be a messiah. To package a personal desire in a messianic way is a show of insincerity.
“It amounts to exaggerating one’s importance. Why is he bringing this up now? Anyway all I will like to say is that the President is a Rivers man as well as a Bayelsa man and he does not take sides on matters like this.”
Mr. Amaechi and four other governors elected on the platform of the PDP, but who styled themselves G7 Governors, defected to the opposition APC on Tuesday alongside other leaders of the splinter New PDP.
The other governors who left the ruling party with him were Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Sokoto), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).
Mr. Wamakko was not in the country when the New PDP, to which all the governors belonged, formally sealed an alliance with the APC.
Two others, namely Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger), said they would remain in the PDP. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Amaechi is a controversial man...he has disgraced us. I tot dis man was good. Right 4rm d beginin @d celestine Omehia fight, he has been controversial...he was not even voted for by the Rivers ppl. It was after omehia won d election dat his issue came up, thereby dethronin Omehia...
ReplyDeleteNow he's playing on the ppl of Rivers using Oil Wells...he's a brother stabber, left his brothers and went to another side.
Yes, we all know all of dem are not geniune, but with all things (ingenunety) being equal, he should at least look @his brothers, but right 4rm d Patience Jonathan time, he has shown he's More Controversial dan we tot..
Mr. Abati you can't make right the wrong. The same presidecy told us that they dont have a hand on the NGF election....but the same presidency also said they don't recognise Gov. Amaechi as the NGF chairman. The presidency is confused. Abati and the presidency should resign. That's my take. The people u called rivers people were paid by u guys to do that and we know it.
ReplyDelete@ 8:48AM
ReplyDeletethe same way Amaechi paid for his supporters.
Please tell Amaechi that he can deceive some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time. He CANNOT deceive all the people all the time. This has always be his plot right from the beginning of his second term. RELEVANCE AFTER HIS SECOND TENURE. He jumped at the proposal for him to be Vice president and threw caution to the wind even at the expense of his people he claimed to protect. His fight is personnal and he should not play GOD!. He has dugged his grave and he should be ready to enter alone. Leave the people alone! we can be deceived any longer! Rivers people would go with their kith and kin and support the only president from Niger Delta since the creation of this country despite being the goose that lays the golden eggs.
ReplyDeleteI also listened to that statement made by Amaechi. Infact, I expected him state caterigorically the road map that APC under his government has drawn up to recover those oil wells, but he didn't. What he just did was to whip up the sympathy of Rivers people for him and his new found political party and the gullibles fell for it.
ReplyDeleteAmaechi bragged the other day he received the APC leadership in PH that HE would consult the president himself before deciding when to join the APC. Please can someone help me to ask him whether he did that and when?....His defection was pre planned long time ago, he was just using the Rivers people to justify his blind greed for power. thank God he has finnally played the doxology drummbeat of extinction. he is going alone!
ReplyDeleteAs far as we know Abati is finished;the likes of him ruined this nation....
ReplyDeleteYou cannot blame the illiterate wife of the dull GEJ you are now blaming Amaechi?he is elected to serve the Rivers people not GEJ and his fat wife
ReplyDelete