Chibuike Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, has come under fire from Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, who called him a complete failure who should not speak in public.
According to the governor, during his seven years in office, Amaechi failed to secure any significant projects for Rivers State.
Wike spoke in response to remarks attributed to the former governor that the Rivers government had declined to grant late Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, who was buried last weekend, a state funeral.
Wike made fun of the former minister yesterday at the official opening of the renovated former Riv-Bank Insurance building in Port Harcourt, telling him to quit talking about Rivers and to cover his face in shame for failing to bring projects to his state. Additionally, he challenged him to go inside the Abuja presidential villa.
Wike bragged that he established the Oil and Gas Polytechnic in Bonny and attracted the Faculty of Law to the University of Port Harcourt while still a junior minister. He also claimed to have given grants to the Kenule Saro-Wiwa Polytechnics in Bori and Ignatius Ajuru University and renovated several secondary schools.
“Tell us, as a grade A minister, what you brought. You think you can deceive Rivers State again? 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 gauge and the other gauge until now, we have not seen anyone in Port Harcourt to Maiduguri.”
The Rivers governor said 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 that you people have brought politics to the man’s burial, I said, okay, let me withdraw myself, I don’t want to be involved in this kind of politics. Let me use this opportunity to say that I am very disappointed that the former minister of transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will still come to the state to talk about this government not giving late Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas a state burial. It is unfortunate. I asked him, when Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas was sick, where were you? This state government committed so much amount of money to make sure Chief Alabo survived. I want to challenge anybody, we did not spend less than N50 million to make sure our elder statesman survived. It was survival we wanted, we wanted him to be alive. When his late son had an accident, and was flown to London, this state government bore the cost of it. Go and ask people.”
Wike recalled that it was the same Amaechi, who was now showing he loved Graham-Douglas that refused to honour him while alive.
“Amaechi, Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas told you, please, help me and do the ring road in Abonnema, so that when we have occasion, we will not be parking on one road, you refused to do it. I did it. When Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas was alive, he told Amaechi, why not do this Trans-Kalabari Road. He did not do it. I am the one doing it. So, who is the man who loves Alabo and has made him more happy?”