Wednesday outlined the reasons that informed his defection
to the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying the state was
not getting a fair deal from the Goodluck Jonathan-led
federal administration.
In a statement he personally signed and titled "The nPDP APC
Merger, My Constraints," Mr. Amaechi said the demand by the
state that the federal government should return oil wells
belonging to it, but which were ceded to Bayelsa, Abia and
Akwa Ibom States, had gone unheeded and had been treated
with levity under this Peoples Democratic Party-led
administration.
According to him, even after Rivers State got a court
judgement that the oil wells wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom
should be returned, only the dry ones were returned to it.
The governor also said that there was absolutely no federal
presence in Rivers State, stressing that the federal government
refused to reimburse the state government the N103 billion it
spent on fixing the federal roads despite several representations
and letter sent to it (federal government).
Mr. Amaechi also alleged that apart from actively discouraging
investments in Rivers State, the federal government treated the
state with levity in the area of federal appointments.
He also claimed that internal party democracy had been
sacrificed on the altar of personal greed and injustice as the
Rivers State chapter of the PDP was being run by persons who
neither collected forms nor indicated interest in running for
office while the legitimate holders of the office are left in the
cold.
Read his full statement addressed to Rivers residents below:
My dear people of Rivers State, when by God's grace and with
your kindness this administration took over the mantle of
leadership on October 26, 2007, we made a promise to serve
you "with humility and render transparent and accountable
stewardship anchored on integrity and good governance." We
also promised to "use our God given resources to improve the
quality of life of our present and future generations."
We made this commitment to you, fully conscious of the fact
that you were hungry for service delivery and that you had
placed on us a burden to prove to the world that our beloved
Rivers State had the potential to rise above the murk and
redefine governance and leadership in our country. We
understood your mandate very clearly and we remain resolute
in our determination to make you proud.
In keeping with our pledge therefore to render transparent and
accountable stewardship, it has become necessary that we brief
you about the recent happenings in our state and my own
position on the issues.
For me, no personal interest or ambition can be higher than the
welfare of a people that gave me their mandate without
conditions. While this crisis has raged, many have asked me
about what drives my insistence that the Federal administration
treats Rivers state justly and fairly. To these people I say: I am
driven by my original vision to bring health to the sick, to
extend opportunities for education to children of all classes, to
bring opportunities for employment to the doorsteps of our
youth. I remain stubborn in the hope that this state deserves the benefits of good governance. My disagreement is with some negative forces that stand against the entitlement of Rivers people to a better life.
It is an indisputable fact that I was elected on the platform of
the People's Democratic Party-a conglomeration of several
individuals with different ideals but with a goal of edging out
the military and ensuring a return to democratic rule. No one
was under any illusion that this would be an easy task but that
we have enjoyed an unprecedented 14 years of uninterrupted
civilian dispensation is a demonstration of how far we have
come in our democratic journey.
However, the vestiges of military dictatorship have also
remained with us, especially within the context of managing
our party but many of us kept faith. Even when the unfortunate incident of an attempt to deprive us of our lawful mandate occurred, we remained with the party urging our supporters to maintain party loyalty and discipline. In the face of great provocation we refused to rock the boat. Our hope was that even when we suffered personal injury our collective interests as a state would remain protected within the party we call our own.
Unfortunately, recent events within the PDP have given me
reason to reconsider our collective interest as people of the
South South and indeed as Rivers people. At various times, as
the one in whom you had gave your mandate, I had cause to
complain about the marginalization of our state and our people
despite our huge contribution to the national coffers and our
unflinching commitment and support for the ruling PDP.
While the political and economic importance of Rivers State
cannot be contested, we continue to hold the shorter end of the
stick.
A few instances may suffice:
1) Our demand that the federal government return oil wells
belonging to Rivers State to us has gone unheeded and been
treated with levity under this administration. Rather, our oil
wells have been ceded to Bayelsa, Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
Even after we got a judgment that the oil wells were wrongly
ceded to Akwa Ibom state and should be returned to us, only
dry wells that were no longer producing oil were returned. In
the specific case of the Soku oil wells, despite a decision
reached that the monies should remain in an escrow account till
all matters concerning it are resolved, the federal government
continues to pay neighbouring Bayelsa state the revenues
meant for Rivers State in a classic case of robbing Peter to pay
Paul. It is indeed noteworthy that we have made several
representations formally and informally on this matter. Our
chiefs and elders have attended several meetings and protested
this injustice to no avail. As your governor entrusted to keep
guard over your common wealth, we could not keep quiet and
allow this grave injustice. For this reason, we have been
vilified, threatened and blackmailed but we insist on
discharging our responsibility to you, no matter the odds.
2) A second instance is the total absence of federal presence in
Rivers State. The "national good governance tour" provided a
good opportunity for the Federal Government to showcase its
presence in Rivers State. The tour, if nothing else, was evident
that there was not much to show for in a state that is the cash
cow of the federation. The East west road remains abandoned,
work has been deliberately slow on the Port Harcourt
International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country,
while all airports started along with it have long been
completed and commissioned. The Bonny-Bomu road that
leads to the only functional liquefied natural gas project
remains uncompleted. In the midst of all these, our
administration went ahead to fix federal roads to the tune of
N103 billion. Several representations and letters after, not one
kobo has been repaid.
3) The federal government is actively discouraging investments
in Rivers State. The Minister of petroleum has refused to allow
the commencement of train seven of the NLNG that would
have provided tens of thousands of jobs insisting that investors
should go and invest in the Brass NLNG project rather than in
the train seven project.
4) When boards and other appointments are considered at the
federal level, Rivers State is treated with levity. Out of xxx
councils of universities, no Rivers person was found worthy of
becoming a university council chairman.
5) Internal party democracy has been sacrificed on the altar of
personal greed and injustice as the Rivers State chapter of the
PDP is being run by persons who neither collected forms nor
indicated interest in running for office while the legitimate
holders of the office are left in the cold. Our several
representations and pleas on this matter to the party leadership
at the highest levels have gone unheeded and unanswered. We
are left in a quandary and have been denied the appropriate
support to lead our party in line with acceptable democratic
norms. The result of this is that politicians with questionable
antecedents now hijack the PDP in Rivers State.
Given the foregoing, it has become clear to us that we will be
unable to achieve our goals and aspirations as a people under
the People's Democratic Party as it is presently constituted.
Our quest for a democracy where the people would remain the
focus of government and governance is bound to suffer a
stillbirth under the present arrangement. We are Nigerians and
people of the Niger Delta, but we are also Rivers people and
live in Rivers state. We are concerned that our well-being is
not central to the leadership of the PDP. We do not find this
satisfactory. We have therefore decided that it is in our best
interest that we move to a party that shares the hopes and
aspirations of our people and realizes and recognizes our right
to exist and be treated as equal partners in our democracy. We
are not and will not allow ourselves to be treated as a second
rate poor cousin. We are equal stakeholders and daresay major
contributors to the common wealth.
It is this mindset that will inform our action in the coming
days. We will of course consult with all our stakeholders as we
try to fashion out a way forward for us and for our people. We
are convinced that as always you will trust our commitment to
your mandate and to your service.
Finally, let me re-affirm my commitment to the emancipation
of the long-suffering people of Niger Delta. I know their pains
because I have lived it and I live it everyday. But let me also
say that the pursuit of politics of self-interest at the expense of
development is not the best way of ensuring justice and equity
for the region. Drafting the police to cause confusion in Rivers
State is not more urgent than completing the East-West Road
or bringing in investments that will create jobs and prosperity
for our people.
To the good people of Rivers State, we are grateful for your
trust and will not treat it with levity. We promise you that as
always, you will be our primary concern and our priority
Signed
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON
Governor, Rivers State
Via: TheNation
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