From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said it was disingenuous for the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, to attribute insecurity in the State to unemployment.
He said if the minister, who is the immediate past governor of the state had any modicum of sincerity, he would attest to the fact that security is the sole responsibility of the federal government.
Amaechi had, at an event in Port Harcourt, yesterday, attributed insecurity in parts of the state to unemployment.
But in a swift reaction, Wike asked: “Is unemployment fuelling insecurity in Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Yobe, Ondo, Ebony, Imo and Niger States governed by the All Progressives Congress (APC)?
“Is he (Amaechi) trying to indict his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and who is constitutionally saddled with the responsibility of providing security for Nigerians.
“It is a well known fact that Amaechi is the one who appoints every Commissioner of Police that has been posted to Rivers State since 2015. So, if there is any security failure, he is to blame.”
He added: Perhaps, the minister is happy that members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are killing innocent policemen, who were protecting lives and property. Is Amaechi happy that the weapons of the slain security personnel were carted away by the hoodlums? Amaechi, from all indications, has lost focus and is now frustrated.”
The governor declared that his administration has offered scholarships to over 500 Rivers State students to study medicine and other related courses at the PAMO University.
Reacting to allegations by the minister that he is acquiring property in the State, the governor said it is better to acquire property in Nigeria than to do so in Ghana.
The governor further urged the minister to return to Abuja and resolve the financial malfeasance rocking federal agencies under his watch, and desist from destroying the homes of others.