Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, is distraught over the killing of 21 people who were returning from church service on New Year’s Day, in Rivers State.
Ameachi criticized his successor, saying the incident had given the Governor away as lacking a firm grip of security situation in the state, before adding: “God will bless him.”
He expressed surprise that the Rivers State House of Assembly had not impeached Wike over his handling of security matters in the state.
“When you don’t protect life and property, what do you do is impeachment. Unfortunately there is no House of Assembly in Rivers State,”Amaechi told State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the Presidential Villa after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to fine-tune arrangements for the commissioning of 10 new coaches and two locomotives to boost the Kaduna-Abuja rail transport service.
“I think the Governor needs to get a bit more serious, he should stop encouraging the militant groups in the name of politics and election,” he said.
“You heard about 21 only in Ndoni, what about in Akutoru where two persons were killed, what about other LGAs. I think there should be much more than age to qualify to be a Governor because it takes much more than age.
“I was Governor of Rivers State, I did not play PDP/APC politics. Life is life; it has no symbol. Nobody has APC life or PDP life. The first responsibility of a Governor, which is what the oath of office requires, is that you swear to protect lives and property.
“There is too much noise coming from Rivers State, the governor just wakes up and starts shouting, abusing people; that’s all he does. Mr. Project painting roads, the first thing you do is human capacity development and keeping human beings.
“Two important men were kidnapped before I left Port Harcourt. The first person is Chief Adoke. Till today, nearly one month after, nobody can tell you where he is. The next person, Chief Omogu, was kidnapped; luckily, the villagers ran after the people and rescued the old man from the bush.
“It never happened when I was Governor. We (the security and myself) ensured that we will not sleep at night. We stayed awake for then citizens to sleep; I think the Governor needs to do much more than that or quit the office.
“I just don’t know what his lacking in him because the things are there for him to work with. He is not like me that, during my second term, President Goodluck Jonathan took away Police, SSS…. The Army brigade commander couldn’t visit me but in his case everyone is disposed to him.
“He can see the Commissioner of Police, Director of SSS, unlike my period, but we fought insecurity. But because he needs these people for election, they are still there; that is why they are killing. We need much more than that.
“Unfortunately, I swore not to be talking about Rivers anymore but you don’t keep quiet in the face of 21 lives; you can’t just keep quite. I have said it that nobody should criticize his successor; let him do his bit. But a successor that watches the lives of people go like that and does not care, God will bless him.”