RIVERS
State Governor Rotimi Amaechi spoke yesterday – for the first time – on his
presence at the House of Assembly when five lawmakers attempted to impeach the
Speaker. There are 32 lawmakers in the House.
Amaechi
said he went to the Assembly to restore order, which had broken down when the
five lawmakers, who are believed to be associates of Minister of State for
Education Nyesom Wike, attempted to impeach Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree.
The
governor spoke at the Chatham House in Central London where he delivered a
lecture on “Resource and governance in Nigeria”. But the audience asked him
about the political crisis in the state, particularly why he went to the
Assembly on July 9.
He
said: “When I heard the members of the Assembly had been attacked by thugs, I
went there with my security attache to rescue them because the police assigned
to the Assembly had been compromised.
“I
abhor violence. The first thing to condemn are the policemen who had refused to
perform their duties of protecting the lawmakers.”
Amaechi
also said that the current political crisis involving him was “based on the
assumption that I want to run for 2015 elections”.
“But
again, there is no law that criminalises ambition in Nigeria, It is sad because
people do everything to bring you down. If this crisis continues, one group
will lose and that is the people of Rivers State.”
“Should
the state suffer for the so-called ambition of the governor?” he asked.
A crowd
of Rivers State’s indigenes was at Chatham House.
They
carried placards, praising Amaechi’s good work. Many of them are students
enjoying the state’s scholarship scheme designed to improve manpower.
Chaired
by the British MP Richard Fuller, the vice chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary
Group on Nigeria in the House of Commons, the session was part of Chatham
House’s African dialogue series. Home of the Royal Institute of International
Affairs, Chatham House regularly invites Nigerian politicians to the UK to
participate in its discussions about how Africa is developing.
Outlining
a catalogue of achievements his administration can boast of since assuming
office in 2007, Amaechi reeled off a list that included infrastructural
projects, agricultural plantations, sending hundreds of students on scholarship
to the UK and Canada and the massive funding of education. He said 500 primary
schools had been built during his tenure and 250 more would be inaugurated
starting from October.
Amaechi
said: “The academic structure we inherited was very bad as many children could
not stay in school and those who did got a very poor education. We are building
schools and uniforms, sandals, bags and books are free, while with healthcare,
we have built 60 health centres and 70 more will be commissioned before the end
of the year.
“We
send 300 every year to the UK and Canada on scholarship and we have established
palm oil and banana plantations that employ workers. By the end of our tenure,
we would have laid the foundation for a more robust and less oil-dependent
economy in Rivers State.”
Speaking
about his recent political troubles, Amaechi said they all began when it was
suspected that he had higher political ambitions for 2015. Stressing that he
has not declared for any position yet, the governor said the impact of the
clampdown was that several projects had been put on ice by the Federal
Government.
Amaechi
said: “When the Federal Government suspects that you have an ambition, they do
everything to bring you down. For instance, we have two helicopters to monitor
security that they have refused permission to be brought into the country and
they have frustrated plans we have to open a syringe manufacturing factory in
Rivers State.
“Even
if they have an issue with me, why should the whole of Rivers State suffer? We
have numerous projects which we have signed agreements with the Federal
Government to introduce and implement but since this crisis began, they have
suspended all of them and the people feeling it are the ordinary people of
Rivers State.”
Stressing
that Rivers State has the second largest economy in Nigeria, the governor said
he is of the opinion that good political leadership could improve things
further. However, he added that the political culture in Nigeria where
politicians believe they are doing the people a favour is a huge impediment as
is the refusal of certain people to leave the political scene.
According
to Amaechi, certain politicians have remained on the scene despite having
nothing more to offer because they have no other means of earning a living.
Stressing
that the crisis in Rivers State threatens security, Amaechi said that some of
the militant groups that had been disbanded are being used to cause mayhem and
protest against his administration. He added that on the day there was a fracas
in the Assembly, many of these thugs were brought in with the connivance of the
Police.
Amaechi
said: “I used to be the speaker of the house and the law is that you are not
even allowed to bring your walking stick in when entering. How did these people
manage to bring in thugs, weapons, a fake mace and cause mayhem while the
police were not only looking on buy aiding them?”
He
pointed out that the violence started long before the recording seen on the
widely circulated Youtube began when five Assemblymen smuggled a fake mace into
the House and used their hoodlums to create chaos. According to Amaechi, after
the police commissioner refused to do anything about it, he went there with his
security detail and it was they who eventually restored order.
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