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Tag: Amaechi

  • Amaechi’s comment on Tinubu threat to democracy – Ohanaeze Ndigbo

    Amaechi’s comment on Tinubu threat to democracy – Ohanaeze Ndigbo

    The apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has condemned the incendiary remarks by former Rivers Governor Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Ohanaeze described Amaechi’s comments, which included calls for “brutal force” to snatch power from Tinubu in 2027, as alarming, divisive and threat to democracy, peace and civility.

    In a statement by the Deputy President General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro in Kaduna on Saturday, Ohanaeze Ndigbo distanced itself from Amaechi’s statements.

    It emphasised the Igbo people would never endorse any political conspiracy aimed at undermining the legitimacy of an elected President.

    According to the body: “Amaechi’s outrageous call for Nigerians to resort to ‘brutal force’ in an attempt to snatch power from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by 2027 starkly contravenes the principles of civility, democracy, and peace that we hold dear.

    “Amaechi’s equally disconcerting assertion that politicians must be willing to ‘steal, maim, and kill’ to retain power not only diminishes the dignity of our political discourse but also poses a dire threat to the very fabric of our society.

    “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reckless and incendiary comments made by Chibuike Amaechi against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

    “It is essential to declare firmly that the Ndigbo will never endorse any political conspiracy aimed at undermining the legitimacy of an elected President.”

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo also backed the stance of the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, who urged Amaechi to cease inciting the populace.

    “We unequivocally lend our support to the position articulated by the Minister of State for Defence, H.E. Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle.

    “We echo his urgent call for Mr. Amaechi to retract his divisive statements and cease from further inciting the populace, lest he face the inevitable repercussions of his actions,” Isiguzoro said.

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo reiterated its unwavering allegiance to President Tinubu and commitment to fostering peace, stability, and fruitful governance in Nigeria.

    “Our resolve is steadfast, as we remain committed to fostering peace, stability, and fruitful governance in Nigeria.

    “Let it be said that the aspirations of the Igbo people align with a future predicated upon legitimate leadership, respect for democratic processes, and a shared vision for a prosperous Nigeria,” the statement reads.

  • Matawalle condemns Amaechi’s ‘reckless’ comments on Tinubu’s leadership

    Matawalle condemns Amaechi’s ‘reckless’ comments on Tinubu’s leadership

    The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammed Matawalle, has strongly condemned former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over what he described as “reckless and inciting utterances” against President Bola Tinubu’s leadership. 

    Speaking at a recent conference in Abuja, Amaechi reportedly claimed that Nigerian politicians must “steal, maim, and kill” to remain in power. 

    In a statement issued by Henshaw Ogubike, Director of Press and Public Relations for the Ministry of Defence, Matawalle condemned the remark, calling it an insult to Nigerians’ intelligence and a dangerous attempt to radicalize the youth and destabilize national peace.

    “It is both reckless and dangerous for a former public office holder to make such inflammatory remarks. At a time when the government is working tirelessly to consolidate national unity and security, no responsible leader should be fanning the flames of violence and political unrest,” Matawalle asserted.

    He warned against misleading young Nigerians with narratives of violence and anarchy, emphasizing that Nigeria is a sovereign nation governed by laws.

    “Let me make it clear: the security agencies are on high alert. Any individual or group found inciting violence or attempting to destabilize this nation will face the full force of the law. We will not tolerate any form of subversive rhetoric that seeks to undermine national unity or incite lawlessness,” Matawalle warned.

    The Minister reminded Amaechi that power is earned through democracy, not by intimidation or violence. 

    He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to peace, democratic values, and national security.

    “His commitment to the unity and progress of our great nation is unwavering. Having experienced both military rule and democratic governance, he would never undermine the very democracy he has fought to uphold,” Matawalle stated.

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    He highlighted the administration’s achievements and expressed confidence that President Tinubu would secure victory in the 2027 presidential election.

    Matawalle urged Nigerians to trust Tinubu’s leadership and disregard the comments of Amaechi and his associates, describing them as “politically irrelevant and out of touch with current realities of national development.”

    “Amaechi and others who think they can manipulate our youth into chaos should rethink their actions. This government will not fold its arms and allow any individual to disrupt the peace and stability of Nigeria,” he concluded.

    The statement emphasized that the Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with security agencies, will continue to monitor activities aimed at disrupting public peace and will ensure that those responsible face severe consequences

  • APC to Amaechi: Your inciting call is irresponsible, unpatriotic

    APC to Amaechi: Your inciting call is irresponsible, unpatriotic

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday, October 11, took the immediate past Minister of Transport, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi to the cleaners for allegedly inciting youth to take to the streets and protest the current economic challenges being faced in the country.

    The party described the former Rivers State governor’s outbursts as “irresponsible, unpatriotic, hypocritical, provocative and dangerous.”

    Amaechi in a television interview recently berated Nigerian youth for not protesting the “high cost of living”.

    The former minister who claimed during the interview that he can no longer afford diesel said, “I’m angry with the citizens. I have said it several times. You can see a group of people stealing your money, impoverishing you, you cannot buy fuel or anything.

    “The people should be angry. There should be protests. Not even protests against anybody but against the politicians that we won’t vote”.

    Reacting to the former minister, APC national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement in Abuja on Friday took a swipe at Amaechi, accusing him of being guilty of the allegations he levied against those in positions of authority.

    According to the APC spokesman, “Amaechi’s comments are insensitive, god-awful and unpatriotic, coming from one of Nigeria’s longest serving and highest ranking political freeloaders – a two-term Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly, a two-term Governor, and a two-term Minister of Transport.

    “For almost all of his adult life, Amaechi has been a leech dependent on state resources, a voracious beneficiary of official patronage, and a leading participant in the generational devastation of our country’s economy. Attempting to hoodwink Nigerians into his web of false empathy and incitement to violence is hypocritical, provocative, and dangerous.”

    APC argued further that, “If those in power “steal money” as Amaechi mischievously alleged, how come he can’t afford “to buy diesel” barely two years after “stealing” for over 24 years in power as Speaker, Governor, and Minister? 

    “The only real anger that Amaechi and his fellow tribesmen of naysayers of the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, must feel is that they are not in the saddle of government today.  But that was a decision made by Nigeria’s ultimate political authority – the electorate.

    “Nigerians are highly perceptive, discerning, demure, and mindful that economic discomforts associated with the administration’s inevitable reforms are transient and will pale into insignificance in comparison to the enduring transformative dividends which are already beginning to manifest.”

    Morka then told the former Rivers State governor that Nigerians will not be cajoled into taking back through street violence what they handed to the administration through the ballot, as Amaechi and his partisan tribesmen would wish.

    “It is nauseating to think that these naysayer tribesmen who did nothing to improve the economy or living conditions for Nigerians while they were in office, now pontificate, endlessly, about what and how things should be done but didn’t and couldn’t do while in power. 

    Read Also: Amaechi and his wit

    “It’s as though they only regain their senses and discover their talents for governance when they are out of power. A tribe of naysayers is what they are, who never see any good, only gloom, filled with bile and disdain for the determined strides of the APC administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to transform our country’s economy for the benefit of present and future generations of Nigerians.

    “One would expect Amaechi to keep busy trying to solve the crippling crisis in Rivers state that he once governed. Instead, he has chosen to stoke anarchy on a national scale. Weaponizing protest and exploiting citizen’s economic discomfort for selfish political objectives, as these partisan tribesmen are doing, is irresponsible and decidedly unpatriotic.”

    The party then urged Nigerians to dismiss the call to anarchy by Amaechi and his partisan tribesmen and to remain patient and continue to support President Tinubu’s bold effort to transform our country’s economy once and for all.

  • Amaechi and his wit

    Amaechi and his wit

    It was recently in Lagos when former Transport Minister and two-time Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, made it clear he was a man of few words. Brevity, according to William Shakespeare, is the soul of wit. But the former minister’s laconic propensity that morning was intended to make him a great literary man, a poet even. Except that he laced it with malice and bile written into it.

    He said he had a flight to catch. He had come all the way from Abuja to honour Dayo Oketola, who was marking his exit as editor of The Punch with a book launch and his exaugural lecture at the Shell Hall of the Muson Centre, Lagos. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo would come later, but Amaechi had spat and left. He, too, would come later and boast about making money for the country and did not refer to his waste, including his white elephant of a library in Otta, Ogun State.

    So, the former two-time governor may be daily fuming and fulminating over his successor and present minister of the FCT, who is now his landlord, Nyesom Wike. But that day, he was fuming about democracy and the army. He was fuming about democracy as though he were a champion of the struggle. He walked up stage after he was serenaded for the baritone defiance of his voice.

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    Decked out in his typical cap and studded Rivers shirt, he told the audience that folks like him, that is politicians, should not be given the stage to talk in such a professional setting. If that was his philosophy, he should have turned down the chance to talk. He had honoured the man enough by showing up. He had walked out of his home, amidst his busy schedule. One wonders what a busy schedule would be other than classes he takes with leisure in a university. He is, after all, acquiring knowledge. And knowledge is wonderful especially if you want to know what to do after a big loss at the last APC primary into which he invested not a little. Other than that, he is more often working up a rage, for now an impotent rage, about how the man who is president should not be there, and he should be there instead.

    So, after saying he shouldn’t be allowed to talk but went ahead to talk, he surely got the attention of everyone for his laconic gift and the burst of bitterness. He said, somebody was just saying something to him about the struggle for democracy against the military. He then quipped. “Is it better now than it was then?”

    On that note, the political chieftain – we can’t call him APC or PDP chieftain right now – rushed out of the stage and out of the hall to catch a flight out of Lagos, more so as the venue was in the ambience of Bourdillon Avenue that reminded him of a person he dreaded for having humiliated him at the Eagle Square.

    So, why would Amaechi be talking about the struggle for democracy? Did he fight against General Sani Abacha and his goons in the topsy turvy era? Not quite. Was he on the streets under the shadow of death? No. Was he caught and thrown in jail? No. Was he ever in the newspapers or television as a voice? No. Was in NADECO at home or abroad? No. He was no more than a mere staff of former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili’s, a personal assistant.

    So, why was he so self-righteous about that era? He was trying to rig history as he probably wanted to happen at the primary when his ears could not stand the chorus of “Bola Tinubu” or “Bola Ahmed Tinubu” as the votes counted were announcing his political nunc dimittis.

  • Alkali, Amaechi for transportation reporters’ summit October 17

    Alkali, Amaechi for transportation reporters’ summit October 17

    Transportation Minister Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali, and his predecessor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, are expected to lead other dignitaries at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Transport Sector Summit on October 17.

    The annual forum for industry’s major players, regulators and other stakeholders will discuss how best to develop the nation’s transportation sector.

    Organisers of the forum, the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN), announced that the theme for the event is: Intermodal Transport: Prospects and Challenges.

    A statement yesterday in Lagos by the association’s Chairman, Mr. Yinka Aderibigbe, and the event’s Organising Committee Chairman, Mr. Rasheed Bisiriyu, said the event, which is expected to be chaired by Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, will hold at Radisson Hotel in Ikeja.

    Alkali is expected to declare the event open while Amaechi will deliver the keynote address, the statement added.

    “The focus on intermodal transportation as the maiden edition of the annual summit is deliberate. It is aimed at bringing together relevant stakeholders across all subsectors of the transport industry with a view to ensuring that all modes form a working synergy for the benefit of commuting public, rather than working at cross-purposes.

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    “Such arrangement will engender greater operational efficiency through lower fare costs that would be acceptable across all modes, operational flexibility and reduction in carbon emission, thereby environmental impact that will ultimately benefit all,” the statement said.

    TCAN said it had put in place a team of carefully selected speakers to discuss the issue in focus.

    The association added that a panel of discussants, featuring relevant members of the intelligentsia, heads of prominent agencies and organisations, would analyse the sub-themes of the summit.

    These would revolve around railway, road, inland waterways and aviation sub-sectors of the transportation industry.

    A commemorative industry journal produced by TCAN would be formally unveiled as one of the highpoints of the event, the statement added.

  • Amaechi’s empty homily

    Amaechi’s empty homily

    • By Ike Willie-Nwobu

    Sir:  Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation wants young Nigerians to ignore the siren calls of greener pastures and instead hope for the lottery of political office.

     Amaechi may have been speaking from a place of genuine alarm at the number of young Nigerians pouring out of the country. But it did not stop him from betraying the mind-set that has enabled himself and others of his ilk to hold Nigeria to ransom.

    Political careerism is all they know. It is what they do. From being Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to governor and minister, he is still on the lookout for a new political position. He committed at least N100 million to be president and lost. Politics for people like Amaechi is all about power and relevance; nothing about service or development.

    Where are the jobs? What of infrastructure? Nigerians fleeing the country go to other countries searching for the fundaments of human survival and happiness.

    Amaechi does not understand this. A firm fixture in Nigeria’s privileged political class from whose ostentatious tables others must scramble for crumbs; he wants Nigeria’s young, who envision better lives elsewhere, to remain here.

    Media houses which invite these expired politicians to air their egregious views should know that they have nothing important to say. The noise they make only serves to drown out important voices and drain the media houses of credibility.

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    Amaechi clearly thinks that Nigeria is an accident. To him, Nigeria is a happy coincidence where someone can sleep jobless and wake up a minister or a governor.

    He has no explanation for the chaos here. He does not think there is anything wrong with those who occupy political offices here. He prescribes political office as the highest ambition, the panacea to the perpetual problem of unemployment and despair.

    It is wrong for the entire aspirations of a Nigerian to centre on leaving the country. But it is also faulty to ask Nigerians who stay back to aspire only to political office.

    Nigerians deserve a strong economy, quality infrastructure and security. Nigerians are not averse to a country where things work. Children in Nigeria deserve quality education and fair employment when they are done. Not the joblessness and despair that is pushing the best of them to all manner of foreign countries.

    The young people Amaechi supposedly advised must ignore him. They must push for a better country. Failing that, they must push their way out of a country where the odds are stacked against them.

    •Ike Willie-Nwobu,

    Ikewilly9@gmail.com

  • Anger in Amaechi’s camp over dissolution of Rivers APC exco

    Anger in Amaechi’s camp over dissolution of Rivers APC exco

    • Sacked team rushes to court to stop committee’s inauguration
    • Why we removed executive, by Ganduje

    There is anger within the camp of a former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, following the dissolution of the Rivers State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) led by Abdullahi Ganduje.

    It was gathered that Ganduje’s decision to go ahead and inaugurate a seven-man Caretaker Committee led by Chief Tony Okocha to berth a new APC in the state further unsettled the Amaechi’s camp.

    The Chairman of the state executive committee, Chief Emeka Beke, immediately rejected the move insisting that nobody could dissolve an elected committee on the pages of newspapers or on television.

    Also, the committee in a statement issued by the state Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, described the dissolution as extra-constitutional.

    He said: “The issued purported dissolution of the State Executives of the APC in Rivers State is extra-constitutional and falls flat in the face of sound crisis management and peace building.

    “The NWC cannot without approval by the NEC take such extreme measures as dissolve DULY ELECTED EXECUTIVES of the party or grant waivers for any individual to occupy positions who is not qualified under our Constitution to do so.

     “Leaving our party in the hands of political undertakers is too much of a risk for all progressive minded individuals in Rivers State.”

    But the sacked committee on Friday rushed to the court to stop the inauguration of a technical committee for Rivers APC through a suit filed by one Peter Onochukwu said to be representing members of the Rivers Executive Committee.

    The suit filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in the Abuja Judicial Division had Ganduje, Senator Surajudeen Basiru, Chief Tony Okocha, Eric Nwibani, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants/respondents.

    The sacked exco in an ex parte application is seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants/respondents from taking any steps whatsoever that is capable of affecting, destroying, or distorting the res in this matter, which is the performance of the functions and duties of the claimant/applicant as an elected official of the state executive committee of APC Rivers State pending the determination of the motion on notice.

    Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has advanced the need to unite the various tendencies in the Rivers State chapter of the party as the reason for  the dissolution of all levels of the party’s executives in the state.

    Ganduje spoke yesterday while inaugurating the Tony Okocha-led seven-man caretaker committee for the party in the state at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.

     The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party announced the dissolution of the executive committees of the party from the ward level to the state level after a crucial meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Addressing the committee members, Ganduje said for the party to actualise the desired unity, the NWC thought it fit to rejig the leadership of the party at all levels in the state, hence the dissolution of the executive arm of the party in the state.

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    Ganduje noted that the setbacks suffered by the party since 2015 occasioned by intra-party conflict, litigations and counter-litigations which finally resulted in the loss of the party in the state, informed the decision of the NWC to reposition the party in the state.

    Congratulating the caretaker committee, the chairman said, “I am sure, you are fully aware that since 2015, APC has been suffering some setbacks one way or another, intra-party, conflict litigations and counter litigations finally resulting in the loss of our great party.

    “So this new National Working Committee of our great party has examined every issue about the party, both at the national level and at individual state levels. And decided to reform the party and this is not possible until we examine the leadership in our respective states.

     “There is no doubt we have members who have been in APC since its creation, some have left the party, some prominent party members left the party and even contested in another political fight and they do not wish to come back.

    “Some of the original party members also followed another faction, they too, they’re ready to come back. Also, there are newcomers from other parties who are many, according to our investigation, that would like to come into the party, so you can see that there is no time to rejig the party but now, especially rejigging the party leadership.”

    Expressing confidence in the committee, Ganduje told them the party expected them to be the foundation of the reform being envisaged in the state.

    He charged the committee to conduct electronic registration of party members, constitute various committees, and conduct congresses that will produce substantive leaders at all levels of the party within 6 months.

     “We have confidence in you, and we expect you to involve yourselves because as part of the reform system, we have introduced electronic registration of our members. We request you to pay attention to the electronic registration of our members and I want you to spearhead that exercise.

     “We expect you to constitute various committees so that you can get more into the party, that is the work that you should do. We also expect you to prepare an enabling environment, so that congresses can be conducted for the emergence of leadership at the ward level, local government level, state level and even senatorial level.

    “We expect you to put more life into this party, there is no discrimination, do not bother yourself about factions because you are brothers for unity, and regard yourself as APC brothers.

    “We would like you to make history by building a strong foundation for our party, so that during the next gubernatorial election we have an APC government in River State, during the next presidential election, even though we are grateful, River State is the only state in the South-South where we succeeded in electing our president Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

     The Chairman of the committee, Tony Okocha who was a former Chief of Staff in the state, assured the party of the readiness of the committee members to hit the ground running.

    “We want to assure you that you have assembled eggheads, good party builders, and ardent party supporters and we shall not fail you.

     “We have listened to your charges, I thought I could scribble something to respond. But having listened to your charges, you took away all that I wanted to say in our response. But what I would like to do is to re-emphasize to assure you that the days of factions in APC Rivers are over.

    Speaking with newsmen after the inauguration, the spokesperson for the Committee, Hon. Chibuike Ikenga, said the party will be open to all comers including the Minister of Federal Capital Territory.

     According to him, “Chief Nyesom Wike is an illustrious son of Rivers State but not a member of APC. He is a member of PDP. But if tomorrow he wants to join the APC we cannot stop anybody. As long as he wants to join others, we will welcome them.”

    The 7-man caretaker committee has Chief Tony Okocha as chairman. Others are Hon. Chibuike Ikenga, Prince Stephen Abolo, Hon. Silvester Vidin, Senibo Karibi Dan-Jumbo and Miss Darling Amadi while Chief Eric Nwibani is to serve as the Secretary.

  • Anger in Amaechi’s camp over dissolution of Rivers APC exco

    Anger in Amaechi’s camp over dissolution of Rivers APC exco

    There is anger within the camp of a former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, following the dissolution of the Rivers State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) led by Abdullahi Ganduje.

    It was gathered that Ganduje’s decision to go ahead and inaugurate a seven-man Caretaker Committee led by Chief Tony Okocha to berth a new APC in the state further unsettled the Amaechi’s camp.

    The chairman of the state executive committee, Chief Emeka Beke, immediately rejected the move insisting that nobody could dissolve an elected committee on the pages of newspapers or on television.

    Also, the committee in a statement issued by the state Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, described the dissolution as extra-constitutional.

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    He said: “The issued purported dissolution of the State Executives of the APC in Rivers State is extra-constitutional and falls flat in the face of sound crisis management and peace building.

    “The NWC cannot without approval by the NEC take such extreme measures as dissolve duly elected executives  of the party or grant waivers for any individual to occupy positions who is not qualified under our Constitution to do so.

    “Leaving our party in the hands of political undertakers is too much of a risk for all progressive minded individuals in Rivers State”.

    But the sacked committee on Friday rushed to the court to stop the inauguration of a technical committee for Rivers APC through a suit filed by one Peter Onochukwu said to be representing members of the Rivers Executive Committee.

    The suit filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in the Abuja Judicial Division had Ganduje, Senator Surajudeen Basiru, Chief Tony Okocha, Eric Nwibani, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants/respondents.

    The sacked exco in an ex parte application is seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants/respondents from taking any steps whatsoever that is capable of affecting, destroying, or distorting the res in this matter, which is the performance of the functions and duties of the claimant/applicant as an elected official of the state executive committee of APC Rivers State pending the determination of the motion on notice.

  • Stop the lies, Bala Usman hits back at Amaechi

    Stop the lies, Bala Usman hits back at Amaechi

    • Says ex-minister just recovered from failed presidential bid

    Former Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, has hit back at ex-Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi.

    Speaking at the annual lecture organised by The Niche, an online newspaper, the former Rivers State Governor accused Bala Usman of documenting false narratives in her book titled: “Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority.”

    In the book, she chronicled her emergence and struggles while she served as managing director of NPA.

    Amaechi said he had refrained from responding to the claims in her book, stating the lies were just too many.

    He claimed that as managing Director of NPA with N2.5m approval limit, she approved a contract of N2.4bn.

    But in a statement yesterday, Bala Usman asked former minister to “please grow up and stop all these lies”.

    She said she took time to respond to the allegations levelled against in the book, wondering why Amaechi was after her.

    “Recent newspaper reports of false claims attributed to the eternally petty ex-Minister of Transportation, His Excellency Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, about me did not come to me as a surprise,” she stated.

    Bala Usman described the former minister’s utterances as an attempt to get back into public life after losing his presidential bid.

    Amaechi finished second in the presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won by President Bola Tinubu.

    She said she had responded to virtually all the allegations levelled against her.

    “He made so much fuss about whether I gave him a birthday gift or not. While this is a trivial issue, the question he should answer is whether he complained to someone that I never gave him a birthday gift as Minister or not.

    “He referenced that I worked under him from 2013 and inferred that anyone working under him for that period would have given him birthday presents. I wonder why it should be automatic to give anyone birthday presents because you work for them. Such entitlement disposition is responsible for a lot of misbehaviours exhibited by people like Mr Amaechi when Nigeria bestows them with opportunities for public office. The truth is that no one owes you anything!

    “In any case, I only worked with him between December 2014 to May 2015. So, how many birthdays would have gone past within that period that I would have given him “a lot of birthday presents,” as he claimed?

    ‘If indeed I offered him a present while he was Minister and he turned down my gift, why then did he complain that amongst my “many crimes”, was the fact that I never gave him a birthday present? The Minister should please stop ridiculing himself by fabricating these stories that do not add up.

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    “It is a good thing to see that the former Minister has finally recovered from his failed presidential bid and is crawling back into public life. However, he should not and cannot make Hadiza Bala Usman the subject of his attempt at a rebound.

    “Mr Amaechi would definitely have his perspective of the events of the five years I served Nigeria as Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority under his supervision. There is no problem with that, but when he shares his perspective, I suggest that he endeavours to stick to the facts and resist the apparently usually overwhelming urge to speak arbitrarily and spread falsehood,” Bala Usman’s statement partly read.

    “In his over two decades in public office, Nigerians must be used to the fluidity with which he tells lies, manipulates facts, and talks out of turn. Here is someone who once brazenly told Nigerians that he doesn’t like money, even when his public conduct contradicts this assertion. That must be the most fantastic lie that any public official, living or dead, has ever told Nigerians and so, nothing he says should astonish us.

    “Aside from exaggerations, manipulation of the truth and outright lies which he threw at his audience on Thursday, the former Minister said nothing that I did not already reveal in my memoirs: Stepping on Toes: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority.

    “The book has been on sale since April 2023, but has he even read it to understand that I didn’t hide anything from Nigerians about the events surrounding my “stepping aside,” and eventual exit as Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority.”

    The presidential aide went down memory lane to explain how she addressed the issues he raised one after the other.

    Countering Amaechi, Bala Usman said she did not know the grounds over which she was allegedly indicted.

    “Mr Amaechi in his rant alleged that I awarded a contract worth N2.8b. This is false. I don’t know where the former Minister got his N2.8b figure from since this accusation was nowhere in the list of infractions conveyed to me in a query arising from the reports of the Administrative Panel of Inquiry he set up.”

    “The only issue relating to a contract award in the query was about the emergency purchase of operational vehicles following the vandalisation of the premises of the Marina, Lagos headquarters of the NPA on October 21, 2020.

    “This subject was addressed in Query E with the title: “Unilateral and improper use of the emergency procurement mode to procure vehicles”.

    “Here, the management of the NPA was accused of making the emergency purchase of operational vehicles “to the tune of One Billion, Two Hundred and Seventy-Seven Million, Six Hundred and Sixty Nine Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty-Three Naira Ninety Five Kobo(N1,277,669,183.95), without approval from the Federal Executive Council.”

    “In my response to the query of the N1.2billion expenditure, I explained that we made the procurement pursuant to the provisions of Sections 43 (1) (a), (2), (3) and (4) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 (PPA) which allows procuring entities to purchase items due to the emergency nature of the need and obtain the necessary approval upon conclusion of the procurement. The response to the query, including the approval obtained and the alleged inflation of the cost of the vehicles, are all detailed between pages 166- 171 of the book.

    “The former Minister also spoke about waivers, which the FMOT query addressed in Item F. The query and my response explaining the circumstances and justifications for all the waivers granted by the NPA management, are published on pages 171-175 of the book.

    “He twisted the facts about Query C, which alleged the “unilateral execution of a supplemental agreement in respect of Lekki Deep Sea Port Concession Project published on pages 163-165 of the book.

    “In my response, I explained as follows: “The Authority was of the view that the supplemental agreement was operational in nature and does not alter any major aspect of the concession agreement as it only rescheduled construction timeframe for a berth and allowed other players to partake in the development of dry bulk since the company was constrained to embark on the construction at that time …”

    “Mr Amaechi also claimed that I was indicted on some ten counts. I do not know what these ten counts are, because no one communicated any such indictments to me. But can I ask him whether these counts include the alleged non-remittance of the sum of N165bill non-remittance of operating surpluses to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for which he sought and obtained former President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval to investigate the accounts of the NPA and my “stepping aside from office?” Is it not true that this weighty allegation did not appear in the query that I received from the Ministry after the conclusion of the work of the panel?

    “Media reports from his lecture said that Mr Amaechi “brandished” the panel report saying that he is keeping it to himself. But I wonder what the secrecy about the report is when the details of the alleged infractions were published as Appendix iii, from pages 157 through 179 of my book. On these pages, I shared the full official query issued to me on the alleged infractions arising from the investigation of the panel of inquiry by the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT), and my response. But more importantly, why is he the only one who has had access to this report?”

  • Amaechi: elite must stop fanning embers of discord

    The immediate past Minister of Transportation and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has advised the elite not to heat up the polity by fanning the embers of discord among Nigerians, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU.

    Minister-designate Rotimi Amaechi has cautioned the elite against fanning the embers of discord.  The ex-Rivers State governor spoke when he was hosted by the British Business Group in Lagos.

    He added that the myriads of social crises in the country were traceable to the failure of the elite to provide proper leadership for the people.

    Amaechi, who spoke about his achievements as governor, his stewardship as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and his four years as Minister of Transportation, said the elite must find a way to unite the people to have peace of mind.

    He said as governor of Rivers State, he built model schools, which saw parents withdraw their children from public schools, adding that his administration’s security architecture was able to restore peace in Rivers State.

    He explained that his disagreement with his former boss, ex-Governor Peter Odili was on principle. He said Odili advised him to challenge his disqualification as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in 2007, but later advised him to withdraw the case. He rejected the advice and that, according to him, was the point at which they parted ways.

    On the widespread rejection and eventual suspension of the RUGA settlement programme, he said: “This has robbed the country of several benefits. RUGA would have been a successful programme if those that brought the concept had adequately enlightened Nigerians on its workability.

    “If you’ve been to Israel, there are farm settlements. And it is a mistake on the part of the governors who came up with the idea, because they did not explain it well. As a governor, if you know that you’re not an expert in certain areas, the first step is to get those who are experts in that area. And when you know that you have little knowledge of a concept, you sit down to be lectured.

    “Because the concept was not properly explained to the people by the governors who initiated the idea, Nigerians said they didn’t want RUGA. What is RUGA? It is simply farm settlements.

    “I build 10, 000 hectares of land. I provide water, light, roads, schools, markets, accommodation and hospitals on that land. Then I look for 1, 000 people to work on that land. I ask each person to take 10 hectares of land and farm on it. As a governor, I have two options. I may buy your produce from you and sell. Or I allow you to sell. But if I buy from you, you make more profit.

    “But many Nigerians said ‘no, no. it’s for cattle.’ What if it is for cattle? We have a national emergency. People are being killed daily. These men have no other jobs and they must eat.”

    He added that the programme was suspended because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s democratic disposition.

    ”If it was a madman that is in charge, he would have insisted on RUGA and people would have followed him,” he said.

    He went on: “If we had provided for the poor at the time we were supposed to provide for them, create an economy that is productive, give them good education and make them employable, then their security would have been guaranteed. Crime would have reduced. You could drive to your house at 2:00 a.m. and it wouldn’t be a problem. In Nigeria, we are even afraid of the taxi driver. So, we created poverty and the consequence is insecurity.

    “What RUGA set out to do was to create an employment opportunity for as many people as possible that can take to farming. It is unfortunate that many people regarded it as a ploy to empower the Fulani people. Some people started playing politics with RUGA, saying all sorts of things.”

    He warned Nigerians, especially the elite, to stop fanning the embers of ethnic and religious discord among the people, adding that such could turn different ethnic groups against one another.

    “If there is a war today, some of us will travel out of the country. But how many ordinary people will be able to travel out? I witnessed the civil war as a child. I would not want to witness another war as an adult. We must stop creating ethnic and religious divisions among our people,” he said.

    On the traffic gridlock at the Apapa Port in Lagos, he asserted that the only enduring solution to the unending challenge is the Lagos-Ibadan rail service.

    “That is the only solution,” he noted. “We were heading to the port. It is unfortunate that I am no longer the Minister of Transportation. But if I retain the same position as Minister of Transportation again, by September, I will be pushing everybody to get to Apapa Port.

    “Initially, the rail system was to stop at Ebute-Metta. But I said I have never seen a country where the rail system would end in the town; it must get to the seaport. So, we awarded a contract for the seaports–Apapa Port, Port Harcourt Port, Warri Port, Calabar Port and Onne Port,” he said.

    The minister-designate said the container-laden articulated vehicles that clog Lagos roads should ordinarily be put on the rail tracks for onward transportation to Ibadan, and from there to other parts of the country. He added that once such cargoes are being transported by rail, the pressure on roads would stop and the roads would be back to normal.

    “We’ve awarded the contract from Ibadan to Kano for 5.3 billion dollars. We are expecting a loan from the Chinese government. If we’re able to get that and we construct the rail from Ibadan to Kano, the problem in Apapa would have been significantly reduced,” Amaechi said.

    He said another challenge was the inability of the country to establish a National Single Window, even as he noted that Nigeria has remained the only country in West Africa without such a system in place.

    “National Single Window is the synchronisation of the process of clearing of goods,” he explained. “What that means is that, as soon as your goods are on the ship, before the ship gets to Nigeria, all the clearing processes would have been completed. In fact, in Benin Republic, if you don’t get your cargoes out in 24 hours, there is a park where they are kept, so that the seaport would be empty.

    “We fought the battle until the last meeting we had. We couldn’t agree, as each person tried to tilt the argument his own way. Eventually, that has been passed. When the new government assumes duty, depending on who the Ministers for Finance and Transportation are, they would need to sit and agree on the modalities for the establishment and operations of the National Single Window.

    “As soon as your goods arrive, they are cleared immediately. There are tracking systems that would monitor your goods from the port of origin to Nigeria. And there are investors that are ready to put down their money, but government must play its part,” he noted.

    The suspended RUGA programme was to have farm settlements and ranches built on several hectares of land acquired by the Federal Government in the states, while schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure would be constructed in such communities. Herders and their cattle were to be restricted to those communities where they would have access to basic social amenities denied them by their nomadic lifestyles.

    Amaechi heaped the blame for RUGA’s rejection on the governors who came up with the initiative because they failed to explain its implementation clearly to the people.