Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, has raised fresh alarm over his safety, alleging that a recent statement by the Presidency posed a threat to his life.
The statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, had accused Amaechi of using falsehood to incite the people of Rivers State and Nigerians against his assumed political foes.
The president’s spokesman was reacting to remarks purportedly made by Amaechi during the seventh anniversary of his Supreme Court victory and APC mega rally, held at Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium last Saturday.
The Presidency stated: “We warn him that there are legal, constitutional and moral limits to political rascality beyond which he will not be allowed to go without repercussions.”
Reacting in Port Harcourt yesterday, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, described the threat as an affront on the collective psyche of Rivers people.
Ibim said: “Let me also remind Dr. Abati that threats, undue references and attacks on persons, who are chief executives of their states is an attack and affront on the collective psyche of Rivers people. Telling Rivers people that their governor is not safe is something I think, Dr. Abati will not want to do in a democracy. He should remember that his principal, as at today, has said he wants to run for an election. I am not sure he can win that election without the people and therefore, Dr. Abati should be careful on how he tramples on the psyche of the electorate. Denying the allegation that Amaechi made “demagoguery, libel, blackmail and incitement of public disorder” against the president, she said it was possible, that Abati prepared the press statement ahead of the rally.
“The first thing to say is that clearly, that statement must have been written before the rally. If it wasn’t written before the rally, then, I am at a loss where Dr. Abati saw the so-called statement against the president, his wife and the Federal Government. There was no point during the rally, where the wife of the president was mentioned and that was because, issues being discussed were not issues about persons but about governance. The issues were in no way related to her, as she does not hold any officials position in government. Therefore, there is no need referring to her where governance issues are being discussed,” the commissioner said.
She insisted that Governor Amaechi did not make any reference to the president in his personal capacity, but to the activities of the Federal Government.
Her words: “As regards to Mr. President, again, Governor Amaechi did not refer to the president in any personal capacity. He did refer to the activities of the Federal Government; he did refer to the fact that the Federal Government’s Ministry of Aviation has not completed the remodelling of the Port Harcourt International Airport, which was started at the same time as Enugu, as Lagos, as Kano, as Calabar. He did refer to the fact that Rivers people were being treated like refugees and we have become internally displaced persons in our own state and our only offence was that we gave the president two million votes in 2011.”
… He lied –Mrs. Jonathan
From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, Abuja The First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has reacted to allegations made by Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, that the raging war between them was because he refused to share state funds with her, calling him a liar.
In a statement by her Media Assistant, Ayo Adewuyi, she said the allegations against her and the president were deliberate attempt to malign her person.
Mrs. Jonathan, who said she had waited patiently for a denial, thinking the governor was misquoted, described the allegations as unfortunate and an excuse by Amaechi to hide his poor performance in the state.
The First Lady said as an indigene of Rivers State she was more concerned with the socio-economic development of the state and in a peaceful atmosphere.
The statement read in part: “Having waited patiently for Governor Amaechi to refute the statement credited to him about the First Lady (with the assumption that he was misquoted), it has become clear that it was a deliberate attempt to malign Dame Patience Jonathan and score cheap political point.
“The governor may have been beclouded by the political uncertainty surrounding him to make such a jaundiced and unsubstantiated allegation that the First Lady asked him to bring Rivers State money to share.
“This is a blatant lie designed to denigrate the person of Dame Patience Jonathan and rubbish the Presidency. This is, to say the least, most unfortunate. It is crystal clear that Governor Amaechi is looking for cheap excuse for his failure in the governance of the state.
“We say without any iota of equivocation that the First Lady never made such request and could not have done so in any way either directly or indirectly.”
“The First Lady as an indigene of Rivers State is more concerned with socio-economic development of the state and in a peaceful atmosphere.
“This guerilla political warfare must stop.”
THE SUN
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