Wike to Amaechi: You’re a Failure, Disappointment to Rivers
•Says his govt spent N50m on Graham-Douglas health
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called out his predecessor, and immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over his comments at the burial of a former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, saying Amaechi was a failure and disappointment to the Rivers people.
Amaechi had lamented the absence of the state government at the burial of the statesman, who was laid to rest at the weekend, because the deceased played a role in the development of the state.
But Wike fired back, saying he shunned the event, when he noticed it had been politicised and went on to lambast Amaechi, whom he described as a total failure.
Speaking at the formal inauguration of the reconstructed former Riv-Bank Insurance building in Port Harcourt, Wike said as far as the state was concerned, Amaechi was unable to attract any meaningful project to the state in seven years as a minister.
He stressed that a man, who failed in attracting projects to his state and has exhibited poor leadership within his depleted party, should hide his face in shame and stop talking about Rivers politics.
“We have taken all your people. Nobody is in your party again. Why not manage and stay quiet, because of your poor leadership. Tell Rivers State people, as Minister of Transportation, what did you do for your people? Seven good years, all you were interested in was doing business with CCECC, doing standard guage and the other gauge until now. We have not seen anyone in Port Harcourt to Maiduguri,” he said.
Wike boasted that while he was a junior minister, he attracted the the Faculty of Law to the University of Port Harcourt, and established the Oil and Gas Polytechnic in Bonny, in addition to making grants available to Kenule Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic in Bori and Ignatius Ajuru University, while renovating several secondary schools in Rivers State.
“Tell us, as a grade A minister, what you brought. You think you can deceive Rivers State again?”, Wike said, noting that the state government stayed away from the burial activities, because it was politicised and he did not want to be associated with such trivialities.
“I saw you people have brought politics to the man’s burial. I said, ok, let me withdraw myself. I don’t want to be involved in this kind of politics,” he said.
