I met Rivers in comatose – Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi

The Immediate Past Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said the state was in comatose when he assumed office more than eight years ago.

Amaechi, in Abuja on Tuesday, added that because his government was accountable to the people, he would not shy away from giving the account of his administration to the electorate.

ADVERTISEMENT

The former governor was reacting to series of allegations made against his government by his successor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.

Amaechi, who spoke through his former Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the sorry state of the state was made worse due to many years of militancy and criminality that, he said, forced government and business in the state to a standstill.

Semenitari said most of the issues being raised by Wike were also contained in the assignment the governor gave to the commission of inquiry he set up to look into how he ran the state.

The former commissioner said, “Amaechi inherited a state that was in comatose and in dire need of infrastructure. Years of militancy and criminality had forced government and business in Rivers State to a standstill.

“He therefore embarked on land reclamation in our riverine communities and the massive construction of roads, bridges and interchanges all over Rivers State.

“Realising there is a direct link between state of infrastructure and the growth rate of any economy, It is to the credit of the Amaechi administration that by the time he was leaving office, he had completed 90 per cent of the Phase 1A of the Rivers State Monorail, completed two major interchanges, two flyovers, 25 bridges, and five shore protection projects.

She said the Amaechi administration also completed 890 kilometres of the on-going 1,424 kilometres road projects across the state.

She added that there were over six land reclamation/shore protection projects at Andoni, Opobo, Buguma, Abalama, Olumbie/Owukiri Island, and Oba-Ama-Okrika with over 1,140,000km completed.

“Out of the roads completed, some of these were federal roads for which the Rivers State Government was owed N108billion. Mr. Wike as Minister of State for Education was among those who prevented former President Goodluck Jonathan from paying the Rivers State Government back these funds,” the former commissioner added.

Semenitari said that other states like Akwa Ibom and Abia received repayment for the federal roads they constructed.

On the debris being owed the Ministry of Works, she said when Amaechi was leaving office, the debts owed the contractors, which she said were for ongoing road projects, totalled N44,942,354,44.10.

Besides, she said that the last government was owing two banks N17.7bn – Agriculture loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria – N2 billion; Zenith Bank, N15.7 billion.

Semenitari denied the claim by Wike that she was contacted by security agents before her official car was forcefully taken away from her residence in Port Harcourt.

According to her, “I find it strange that Mr. Wike says that I was contacted by security agencies. It might have been necessary that he provides proof of such contact.

“I am also shocked that he conveniently failed to acknowledge that it was an eight year old car and that it was not factory proofed.

“He also failed to state that it was given to me after several threats to my life because of  my job description and that this isn’t strange as he himself as chief of staff was aware that there are political office holders who are allotted official vehicles from government house as the need or circumstances may dictate.”

“Over and beyond all this, can Mr. Wike please confirm if, as commissioner, I am entitled to leave with the official cars used during my tenure and if indeed he, as chief of staff and later minister of state, did so.”

Semenitari said at no time did she claim that the Lexus Jeep forcefully taken from her residence belonged to her husband and that what belonged to him was a Range Rover jeep.