The Amaechi legacy

Last week, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike asked President Muhammad Buhari not to appoint his predecessor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, as minister if he (Buhari) wants his fight against corruption to be looked at with credibility. Buhari  had revealed in far away United States of America, during his four-day visit, that he would announce his cabinet in September. Amaechi was among those who  accompanied  Buhari  on the trip. In a release by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, Wike described  Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign as selective, saying it would be dismissed as laughable if  Amaechi makes the ministerial list.

The comment attracted a swift reaction from Ken Minimah, Chairman of Legacy Group, who wondered why the governor was convulsing over what role, if any, Amaechi may play in the new scheme of things instead of focusing on governance for which he was elected, albeit temporarily. According to Minimah, it was the same Wike, who called Amaechi “the modern governor” (Channels TV’s SUNRISE)  comparable only  to  Chief Alfred Diete Spiff, because of the massive infrastructural development that took place in Rivers between 2007 and 2015, that “now spews garbage bags of infectious lies about corruption and misappropriation”.

He pondered over what has changed between then and now, that suddenly Amaechi  must now be destroyed. The Legacy Group leader said he was surprised that Wike was not sober after he has been unjustly aided to take over the Port Harcourt Government House by the troika of INEC, security agencies  and  the Presidency  under former President Goodluck Jonathan.  “We would have thought that the travails of the soon to be exposed Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gesila Khan, should be a source of bother for the impostors”, he added.

He posed several questions: “Why has the governor abandoned governance and refusing to take advantage of the little time he has to reinvent and perhaps make a token of a good name for himself? Why   is the governor wasting his precious time running after Amaechi who has moved on graciously after serving the state meritoriously for eight years?  Why is the governor convulsing over what role, if any, Amaechi may play in the new scheme of things?  Why is the consuming fear of what Amaechi will become tomorrow? Does he want to fight God  and  His plan for Amaechi?  Why is the governor scared of the political destiny of Amaechi in the politics of the South- South and Nigeria in general? Why is the governor desperate about what type of relationship that exists between  Buhari and Amaechi?”

Minimah said a well positioned Amaechi will help to drive the development of the state from the federal level,  especially with regard to recovering the stolen oil wells as against Wike’s  reckless  and disorderly  pursuit of the shadows of his benefactor even as he asked the governor to answer the following questions: Is this bring-down-Amaechi-posture in the interest of Rivers State and its people? Isn’t it a probability that a well positioned Amaechi will help to drive the development of the state from the federal level, especially with regard to recovering the stolen oil wells? Why must Wike’s personal interest be more important than the interest of the state?

According to him, it is sad that that despite the painful betrayal of Amaechi by some of the people he has lifted politically over the years and the recent gang up and attempt by the same people to tarnish his image, his legacy in Rivers and the emerging story of a better Nigeria remain unshakable irrespective of whatever role he may play now and in the future. He asked Wike to tell the people of Rivers how many month(s) salary arrears  his regime inherited. He also asked him to produce the total amount of the salary arrears he has paid and how much was in the state coffers on May 29, 2015 when he assumed office.  The governor was also tasked on how much he has received from the Federation Account since May 29, how much he has borrowed from the banks as well as the way the funds were spent.

On the achievements of Amaechi as governor, Minimah stated: “We are confident that his legacy is firmly etched on the hundreds of schools that he built, hundreds of kilometres of roads that he built, hundreds of primary health care centres and hospitals that he built, thousands of students who benefited from   his free education in Rivers and across the country as well as those sent on   scholarships to study overseas, the various projects in agriculture, transport, entrepreneurship, industries, housing, etc. We are confident that Amaechi’s  legacy is secure not by  the unsteady grips of men but by  the firm hands of his   Creator.

Irrespective of what Chibuike Rotimi  Amaechi chooses  to do in contributing further to the progress of this great country  today or in the years ahead, his place in history has been safely bookmarked and can never be deleted by those who are tormented by his God bestowed  favour and  ability to work through the valleys of uncertainty, betrayal and   tribulation. We call on the people of Rivers whose votes were violently violated to  remain  vigilant  and protect  the legacy  of a man who  is ever ready to  put  in everything he has  for    state and country”.

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