Our attention has been drawn to misrepresentations and innuendoes as it
\nconcerns the immediate past Governor of Rivers State and current minister
\nof Transportation Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in the purchase and
\nimportation of two helicopters into Nigeria that was supposedly abandoned
\nat the Murtala Mohammed International airport, Lagos.\u00a0 To set the records
\nstraight, we wish to state the following facts:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recall that when Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi took over as
\nGovernor of Rivers State, criminals masquerading as militants, kidnappers
\nand all other criminal elements were on the prowl in Rivers State. With a
\nstrong political will to tackle these menaces and make the State a safe
\nplace, Amaechi initiated a lot of measures to deal with the menace.
\nPurchasing these helicopters was one of the measures the Amaechi
\nadministration took to curb the clandestine and criminal activities in the
\nstate. And the decision to go for these helicopters was based on the
\nadvice and recommendation of security experts and specialists that were
\nworking closely with our Nigerian security agents to rid the state of
\nthese criminals- kidnappers, pipeline vandals, vicious political cultists
\netc.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sequel to the recommendation of security experts, the Rivers State
\nGovernment bought the two Bell 412 security surveillance helicopters
\nduring the administration of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, in
\ncollaboration with the federal government through the office of the
\nNational Security Adviser (NSA). The federal government then was very
\nimpressed with the Amaechi administration\u2019s security plan to curb
\ncriminality in the State and supported the plan all the way. To show their
\nsupport, the Federal government through the office of the NSA contributed
\n$15M (Fifteen Million Dollars), about half of the total sum, towards the
\npurchase of the helicopters. Also, the then former President Goodluck
\nJonathan\u2019s administration granted waivers to the Rivers State government
\nto purchase and import the helicopters.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 However, trouble started many months later when the helicopters
\nbecame ready for the Rivers State Government to take possession of them
\nand use them to fight crime and the criminals in the land and creeks of
\nthe State. The President Goodluck Jonathan administration frustrated and
\nrebuffed all attempts by Amaechi and the Rivers State government to take
\npossession of the helicopters. Note that the said helicopters were partly
\nfunded by the federal government and that would be operated and managed by
\nfederal security agencies in collaboration with the Rivers State
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This strange twist was most baffling to the Rivers State government.
\nMany would recall that, Amaechi as Governor of Rivers State at different
\ntimes cried out and spoke loudly about the refusal of the President
\nGoodluck Jonathan administration to allow the Rivers State government take
\npossession of the security surveillance helicopters. It was about
\nsecurity, the safety of lives and property, but the Jonathan
\nadministration refused and bluntly blocked the Rivers State government
\nfrom taking possession of the helicopters. The same helicopters the
\nfederal government had months back, partly funded and had granted
\napprovals and waivers for the purchase and importation into the country.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was obvious why the President Goodluck Jonathan administration
\nacted the way it did and Nyesom Wike, the present Governor of Rivers State
\nwas an integral part, a major player in the whole conspiracy to block and
\nprevent Rivers State government from taking possession of the helicopters.
\nThen, as a minister in President Jonathan\u2019s cabinet, Wike inundated
\nPresident Jonathan with lies and fake stories of how then Governor Amaechi
\nwanted to use the helicopters for Presidential campaigns against Jonathan,
\nhow Amaechi will use the helicopters to support President Jonathan\u2019s
\nopponents before and during the presidential elections and all sorts of
\nconcocted tales that created a false impression that the Amaechi
\ngovernment in Rivers State would use the helicopters against and to fight
\nPresident Jonathan, and not to secure lives and property.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wike then, was already nursing the ambition to run for the office of
\nGovernor of Rivers State, he didn\u2019t care about the security of lives and
\nproperty, his grand plot was to use the criminals, political cultists and
\ncriminal militants to harass, intimidate, terrorize, maim and even kill
\nhis political opponents and those that refused to support or vote for him
\nbefore, during and after the elections. Wike knew early that he needed
\nthese criminal elements to rig his way to Rivers State government House,
\nso he did everything to ensure that these criminals will be always
\navailable for him to use.<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is worrisome and indeed pathetic that Governor Nyesom Wike as
\nusual, is again playing politics with the safety and security of Rivers
\npeople. The helicopters were procured by the Amaechi administration to
\ncurb the wanton menace of criminals in the State (which has since worsened
\nunder Wike\u2019s watch), but in his usual habit, Governor Wike has decided to
\nabandon and dump the helicopters, because he does not care about the
\nsafety and security of lives and property in the State. Sad, very sad.<\/p>\n
RT. HON. CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI MEDIA OFFICE
\nJanuary 29, 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our attention has been drawn to misrepresentations and innuendoes as it concerns the immediate past Governor of Rivers State and current minister of Transportation Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n