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Tag: Amaechi

  • Senate invites Amaechi over Eastern rail line

    THE Senate yesterday invited Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi to appear before its joint committee on Land Transport and Local and Foreign Debts over alleged exclusion of eastern rail lines.

    Amaechi is summoned to tell the upper chamber why the eastern rail corridor, Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, was allegedly excluded in the scheme of rail expansion and modernisation.

    The invitation of the minister followed the adoption of a motion by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu on alleged exclusion of the eastern rail corridor in the ongoing modernisation of rails.

    Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe raised a similar motion last year when he prayed the Senate to put on hold a foreign loan for rail lines due exclusion of eastern rail corridor in the rail expansion plan.

    Amaechi told the Senate that there was no plan to exclude the Southeast area in the rail modernsation scheme.

    He assured that the area will be included in the 2018 borrowing plans of the Federal Government.

    Ekweremadu said yesterday that the exclusion of the eastern corridor in the rail modernisation scheme is not good for the country.

    He urged the Senate to intervene and prevail on the Federal Government to take steps to include in the rail line expansion project.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, who supported the motion, said it appears there is no commitment on the part of the Federal Government to pay attention to eastern part in the rail development programme.

    Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, who also supported the motion, noted that General Electric, which ought to have handled the project, has not abandoned it.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki said the issue of equity should be considered in the distribution of railway projects.

  • APC built Train stations in villages of PDP chieftains—Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Sunday said that in the course of executing the Warri-Itakpe Rail line, stations were built in the villages of Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP)’s chieftains.

    Amaechi disclosed this at the `Next Level Presentation’ at Presidential Villa Banquet Hall to signal the commencement of the campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 general elections.

    The minister who made a presentation titled `What We are Building ’  said that President Muhammadu Buhari, upon assumption of office, directed that old and abandoned projects be completed.

    “The truth is that the country is compelled to make a choice between good and bad. When I was appointed the Minister for Transportation, the president warned–do not start new contracts, go and complete old ones.

    “We met Itakpe –Warri Rail line which had been in existence for 34  years uncompleted; it would have been the first Standard Guage line in Africa if it was completed.

    “ Based on the president’s instruction, I did a memo; I thought we will borrow money from China; but the president refused. He said we should use our internal funds to execute the project.

    “People saw me on social media on Train service from Warri to Itakpe. I got to Warri 8pm because I was going from one station to the other—almost all the villages and most  prominent members of PDP made sure that train stations were in their villages.

    “So, I am compelled to do those stations in villages of members of PDP; it is okay; it is the instruction of the president that you must go and finish the old work.’’

    He said that the tradition in the past was that once one was elected, one left the old things for the old people and awarded new contracts.

    According to Amaechi, the ministry will start commercial service from Itakpe to Warri.

    On PDP’s argument that it started the projects, Amaechi said that Buhari made it clear on commissioning the Abuja –Kaduna rail project that the project was started by the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “We completed it but two things are remarkable—we borrowed 500 million dollars to start that project at the time oil was selling at 114 dollars per barrel.

    “ We should not have borrowed; you mean this country could not have afforded 500 million dollars?

    “I will show that we can; when I wrote a memo to the president and to the cabinet requesting that he should allow me borrow 500 million dollars from China to buy locomotives and coaches for Lagos-Ibadan, the cabinet under the directive of the president refused.

    “He(the president) said 500 million dollars; we can get from here and we are funding it from here; so we did and completed Kaduna to Abuja quickly.

    “We spend N56million per month and we get N16 million; so we are augmenting for both rich and poor—N40 million per month under the directive of the president because he fears that the poor might not be able to afford it. So, everybody is using it.’’

    According to him, Lagos to Ibadan railway is almost complete—a distance of 156kms.

    The minister said that application had also been made to construct Kano to Kaduna railway as approval for funds is being awaited.

    “We are about to award the central line from Abuja to Niger to Baru from Baru to Itakpe to Warri; the president had approved a new seaport in Warri. We are negotiating with a Chinese company which will build it.

    “Do not forget that N2.7 billion dollars is N1 trillion. So, we are looking for money to commence already awarded work on the coastal rail.

    “The coastal rail starts from Lagos, from Lagos; it passes through Ogun State, Ondo, Benin, Asaba, and Onitsha. From Benin again, it passes through Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, to Bayelsa, in fact, it goes to Utuoke. From Otuoke, it goes to Port Harcourt.

    “ Then from Port Harcourt, it goes to Aba, Uyo, and ends up in Cross River State.

    “We are almost ready to award Port Harcourt to Maidugiri. The difference between us and the last award is that the last award was 1500km but under the directive of Mr President, it was extended to 2000 km.

    “ The last award was Port Harcourt straight to Maidugiri but in order to satisfy everybody at the directive of the President, we must get to every state capital,’’ he said.

    On his part, Mr Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said that it would require a long journey into Nigeria’s history to recall when last it had massive investment in infrastructure.

    “It is no coincidence that we look to the 1970s and the 1980s when we built new airports, new seaports, new refineries, new highways and bridges.

    “The closest you will have to that era is the 1990s when petrol-money was also being applied to upgrade infrastructure under the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF )incidentally chaired by Buhari.

    “We lost an enormous opportunity when recently oil money rose to $114 dollar per barrel and stayed there for almost a decade and we have no new airport, refinery, bridges, petrochemical plants,   no new seaports to show accountability to how all the money went,’’ he said.

    The event also witnessed the unveiling of Buhari-Osinbajo 2019—A Basic Guide-The Campaign Manual in Brief. (NAN)

  • Amaechi rescues kidnap victim

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi yesterday rescued a kidnap victim, Mr. Edi Chinda Edi, on Omoku/Egbeda Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    Seven others are still in the kidnappers’ den.

    Amaechi, according to his media aide, Gift Okpara, in an online statement, was travelling to Ubimini in Emohua Local Government of Rivers State to address supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC), when he saw a Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), which was abandoned in the bush.

    The minister was reportedly leading the convoy, but he stopped and ordered his security team to comb the forest in search of the occupants of the SUV.

    During the search, one of the occupants was rescued.

    The victims are APC supporters, who were heading for Ubimini to attend a sensitisation rally on the permanent voter cards (PVCs), ahead of the 2019 general election.

    Narrating his ordeal to Amaechi, Edi said they were heading for Ubimini when they suddenly ran into a barricade by the kidnappers on the expressway.

    He said the hoodlums attacked them.

    Edi said eight APC members were in the SUV when the kidnappers, who were armed with AK47 rifles and other weapons, struck.

    He said: “We were eight in the vehicle and they kidnapped us. While they were beating and forcing us into the bush, I escaped to the other side of the forest.”

    Worried by the safety of the seven other victims in the kidnappers’ den, Amaechi directed his security personnel to continue the search to rescue them and arrest the hoodlums.

  • Why some Nigerians don’t want Buhari re-elected – Amaechi

    •Only court can reject APC candidates list

    The Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Re-election Campaign Organisation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said yesterday that some Nigerians are opposed to the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, because he will not agree to share public funds for personal use.

    But he was confident that given the President’s “impressive performance” in the last three and a half years, the majority of the electorate would vote for him next year, in order to continue with his developmental strides and empowerment of the people.

    Amaechi, who is also the Minister for Transportation and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state and the Southsouth zone, insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had not rejected the list of APC’s candidates from Rivers state for 2019 polls.

    Only the court can do that, he said while presenting a book: “The Niger Delta Paradox: Impoverished in the Midst of Abundance,” written by Monsignor John Wangbu, a Catholic Priest.

    The well-attended event, which was chaired by the immediate Rivers Chairman of APC, Chief Davies Ikanya; also had in attendance the deputy governorship candidate of APC in Rivers, Chief Victor Giadom; the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Prof Henry Ugboma; a member of Rivers House of Assembly, Dr. Innocent Barikor; and Prof. Walter Ihejirika of UNIPORT, among other eminent personalities.

    The transportation minister, when accosted by reporters after the book presentation to comment on the latest developments in Rivers chapter of APC and the way forward, decided to be circumspect.

    His exchange with reporters went thus:

    What is the way forward for Rivers APC?

    Amaechi: “I am not the Chairman of APC.”

    What of INEC’s rejection of the list of candidates of Rivers APC for 2019 general elections?

    “I am not INEC, but does INEC have that power? It is only the court that can say that and there is nothing like that before INEC.

    What is your reaction to the directive of APC’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, that fresh congresses be conducted in Rivers State?

    “I do not know what you are taLking about. I have to see the chairman (of APC).”

    The transportation minister, during the book presentation, said that the problem of Nigeria was not leadership, but followership, stressing that Nigerians must produce what they eat.

    He stated that emphasis must be placed on accountability and consequences for actions taken/punishment for wrongdoings, in order to sanitise the system and have the hope of a better Nigeria.

    Amaechi said: “Why some persons are saying they will not vote for President Buhari next year is because the money available, instead of sharing it, we are working with it for development across Nigeria. If you see a disciplined person like President Buhari, who is saying we cannot continue like this and be sharing money, we need to support him.

    “We need to produce what we eat. Imagine Nigeria importing tomatoes and meat. Before, Nigeria was importing 500,000 eggs per day from South Africa. We are now producing our tomatoes and rice. We have reduced the importation of chicken and eggs.

    “Niger Deltans are impoverished by themselves. The Ogoni man who broke crude oil pipe, is he not aware that there will be environmental crisis? The Ikwerre man who stops the man who is producing crude oil in one of Ikwerre communities, did he remember how much it costs the Federal Government and the Nigerian nation and the loss incurred for the number of days of stoppage of oil production?

    “The private individual in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, who went to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company to collect money. Did he think that the money he collected belonged to Agip? If the money belonged to Agip, he would not be given. The money he collected actually belonged to the Niger Delta. Our agitation is in private pockets.

    “Calculate how much has come to Rivers State, including my administration, and look at the volume of development that has come out of the money, and see whether we are making progress. I am not saying the Federal Government is treating us in the Niger Delta well, but the funds that we have managed to get, what have we done with them? Do not blame politicians, blame yourselves too. The problem is not leadership, but followership. We must ask the right questions. It should not be a land of anything goes.

    “A friend of mine was made the Minister for Environment and she wanted to take up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) for clean-up of the polluted Ogoni environment. She came to me and asked what she should do. In the Niger Delta, most people do not like development projects, but to share the money. I told her the first thing she would experience would be requests to share the money. I told her that if she smiled or laughed with the people, she would be in trouble. The first day she arrived, the people started demanding money, but she ignored them and she was successful.

     

     

    “The current people (in HYPREP) are having problems, because they are listening to the people. Me, I will not listen, but I will do what is in my mind. I only want to be judged by God and the society. I want to live, knowing that my conscience is clear and I have satisfied myself that I have done the right things. So that I can sleep freely. My conscience worries me a lot.”

    The transportation minister also said  that his successor, Governor Nyesom Wike, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), initially made little efforts to fight kidnappings and killings in Rivers, when he (Wike) observed that President Buhari might declare a state of emergency in the state, in view of the criminal activities, which he said had continued till date and now taking a dangerous dimension.

    He noted that when he was Rivers governor, while people of the state would be sleeping at night, he and the then army commander in Bori Camp, Port Harcourt would be awake, driving round the state’s capital and chasing criminals in bulletproof cars

    He said his wife, Judith, was always complaining about his not sleeping in the night, but he one day decided to ask the then First Lady to join him for the night patrol and she saw criminals trying to shoot at them, she became scared and had to  return  home.

     

  • 2019: We won’t interfere in INEC’s duties, Amaechi tells EU

    The European Union (EU) has no preferred candidate in next year’s election, it said yesterday.

    EU Delegation Head Amb. Ketil Karlsen gave the assurance at an audience with Buhari Campaign Organisation Director-General Rotimi Amaechi.

    Amaechi told the EU that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would adhere strictly to the electoral laws in the general elections.

    He also said President Muhammadu Buhari will accept the outcome of the elections.

    Amaechi said: “One assurance I will give you today is that we’ll stand by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and we will stand by whatever decision they make. We believe that we promised Nigerians change and I also believe that you can observe the change.

    “By this time in 2014/2015, when I was still in office as governor, I was on fire. Everybody was on my neck. The then President had withdrawn my security. My ADC and CSO were on the run; there was no police security and nobody cared. They didn’t bother that I could be killed or attacked.

    “I was attacked several times. I was attacked in Port Harcourt. But now, we believe the President that they were accusing that would be undemocratic because he is a retired soldier is more democratic than a civilian that was elected in the past.

    “During the Anambra State election, when the governor cried out that his ADC had been withdrawn, President Buhari ordered that the governor’s ADC be reinstated immediately. So you see, that is the change we are talking about.

    “So the assurance I will give you from President Buhari Campaign Organisation is that there will be no interference by the President.

    “ We’ll play by the rules and whatever the campaign team needs to do to ensure that the election is transparent, we will do.

    “ We’ll also ensure that the election is such that Nigerians will be proud of, and we hope that the rest who are contesting in other parties will also take the same position.”

    Amb. Karlsen, Head of the European Union delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said the EU would partner with Nigerians to organise credible polls in 2019.

    He said the EU, was only concerned about the best electoral practices for Nigeria.

    Karlsen said : “We look forward to a good collaboration on this occasion of the 2019 general elections. We have had election observers in Nigeria for all general elections since 1999.

    “For the EU, we really do not have any preferred candidate; we don’t have any preferred political party; we don’t promote any particular ideology in Nigeria.

    “We are very concerned about having the best possible process in the country. We want to see free, fair, credible and peaceful election. So this is why we have invested not only our time but also a lot of European tax payers’ money on engaging with all the Nigerian stakeholders since 1999.

    “We have spent more than E100m(Euro) in giving support for electoral process. So, currently, we support INEC, we support the National Assembly, we support intra-party democracy and we support all stakeholders.

    “We had also engaged actively in the party primaries and this gives us reason about the optimism of INEC to conduct elections.”

     

  • Maritime industry, Amaechi and global competitiveness

    To those who knew Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi  and what he represents in words and deeds in Nigeria’s contemporary socio-political discourse and developmental narratives, his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as Minister of Transportation three years ago, was welcomed as providential, discreet, foresighted and meritorious. Hence, his celebrated appointment was both a commiserate reward for excellence in selflessly championing the cause of the ‘Change’ phenomenon and the implicit faith President Muhammadu Buhari has in his unshaken loyalty and wealth of experience to strengthening the present administration.

    It did not, therefore, matter the mischievous antics by adamant conservatives and Orwellian propagandists, who inconsequentially tried to hinder the process of his confirmation as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    We can recall with a sense of refreshing triumph and vindication the comedy of errors and melo-dramatic scenes that were zealously but vaingloriously orchestrated by some sanctimonious members of Nigeria’s apex parliament in apparent conspiracy with some envious aristocrats, who were afraid of what support and strength Amaechi will become to the Change Agenda he championed. Although this is past tense in the context of this article, one outstanding lesson learnt in the whole contrived spectacle was that no man can alter even the smallest divine arrangement.

    Comprising land, rail, water and Air, the transport sub-sector of the Nigerian economy is as dynamic, vibrant, massive, composite and sometimes volatile as it must be seen to be. This is so because this sector contains and contends one of the highest percentage of the country’s self-employed labour force and a whopping number of transportation experts. Analysts were, therefore, of the opinion that the appointment of Chibuike Amaechi was very suitable, considering that he is a master strategist, pragmatist, realist and positivist, who sees every challenge as a garden of opportunities for positive differences.

    The landmark step Amaechi took on arrival in office was to engage government and stakeholders on robust interactions on development of modalities for the creation or restoration of a Master Plan for the sector. The highly commendable outcome was the 2015 National Master Plan, aimed at achieving sustainability based on a tripod model of – Rehabilitation, Restoration, Procurement – so that the nation does not suffer the Dutch disease of losing what has been improved. It was targeted at increasing opportunities through procurement, bringing infrastructure to a level that can support productivity and positioning it in a way that  procurement can be enhanced.

    No gainsaying stating that in the last three years, the Nnamdi Azikiwe, Abuja Runaway and its Port Harcourt counterparts have been transformed into real international standards. Beyond this, there has been incremental growth in the sector.

    According to the Central Bank of Nigeria 2018 Data, GDP from the sector recorded an all time high of 253325.52 in the fourth quarter of 2017 at a growth rate of about three per cent, when compared to previous years. Besides, abandoned rail networks in certain parts of the country have since bounced back.

    Amaechi had during his screening by the Senate said that he willingly accepted the ministerial appointment in the spirit of patriotism and trust in his tested ability to deliver on promises, having had enormous experiences in public office management as well as a helicopter view of commonplace challenges in the transport sector.

    Perhaps one area of most outstanding performance by the Minister of Transportation is the sweeping transformation that gives more global attention to the Nigeria’s Maritime sector and proactiveness  caused to be witnessed in the country’s premier maritime institution, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria located in Akwa Ibom State.

    Until his emergence as Minister of Transportation, Stakeholders may have begun losing participatory interest, investments and hope in the then dwindling institution that ostensibly and figuratively proved allergic to all models of transformation because of the hydra-headed rot that observably had its taproot in poor leadership and total breakdown of operational rules.

    But the Minister was prompt, explorative, circumspect and clinical in approaching the challenges. Just few months in office, as part of his strategic plans to redeem the lost vision of the Academy, he set up a 7- man Ministerial Committee made up of seasoned maritime experts with a fact-finding mandate to the 41-year-old Academy.

    The Committee started its work on  January 25, 2017 with a facility tour of MAN.

    Justifying this step, Hon Amaechi made this prophetic and memorable observation: “The situation in MAN, Oron will need a technical committee, or a consultancy firm to evaluate what the situation is on ground, agree on what to do with money coming from NIMASA, and agree on what to do about the institution”. “We need to carry out a surgery of that institution. We don’t need God in this one. God has given the enablement; so what is left is to go and do the work. Once we can turn MAN Oron around, we can start training our cadets locally”, he stressed.

    Next, the Committee having completed its first assignment, the Minister only changed its nomenclature, sustained the status quo, expanded the scope and membership to 8 (with the introduction and appointment of Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua as Rector) and transformed the Committee into an Interim Management Committee (IMC), with a lifespan of six months but with an expanded  mandate “to restructure and reposition the Academy for regional and international competitiveness”. Assignment completed within scheduled time, Commodore Duja Effedua then officially took over the mantle of leadership of the Academy. It cannot be forgotten that, to back up the new Rector with another administrative framework, the Presidency  also officially constituted a Governing Council for the institution.

    Still fresh on the mind is one of the excerpts attributable to the Rector on his assumption of duty: “It is time we told ourselves the truth than continue to pander sentiments. The state of this Academy is very bad; very worrisome. It is shameful that the Academy is the way it is today forty years after its establishment in 1977. Political interference and other frivolous justifications have adversely affected the growth and development of the Academy. We all should think about the soul of the Academy that has been sold out because of politics and personal interests. It is time these negative factors be reversed in the general interest of all Nigerians. And I stand here to promise that I will do my very best to justify the enormous confidence the Federal Government and Minister of Transportation reposed in me”.

    Part of this success story will be the Passing-Out-Parade of Cadets on Friday,  November 2, 2018, an exercise that had not been held in the past seven years. That the Hon Minister for Transportation is expected to attend the event in person, the first time he is visiting the Academy since inception of office, may be an indication that he is very happy with what he has heard and must be there  to see it physically.

    Findings have shown that the host communities of the Academy are in high spirit to receive this game-changer in the fortunes of the Academy.

    Every generation has its heroes and iconic leaders to whom challenges are like smokescreens to greater heights.

    The story of Amaechi today is that of resilience, determination, responsibility, experience, excellence and patriotism in fighting the common good for the greater number.

    If there is a man practical experience has fine-tuned, he is Amaechi; if there is any man who has experimented and succeeded with ingenious initiatives, he is Amaechi, and if there is one man whose integrity and values critics have not succeeded at tarnishing, the man is still Amaechi.

     

    • Okpo is an Uyo-based journalist, maritime observer and public affairs analyst.

     

  • Amaechi to unveil book on Niger Delta

    The Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, will, on Saturday, at Juanita Hotel, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, unveil a book: The Niger Delta Paradox, by Father John Wangbu.

    Amaechi, according to his media aide, Gift Okpara, in an online statement yesterday, would be the special guest of honour, while Prof. Vincent Asuru would review book.

    The programme will be chaired by a former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, Chief Davies Ikanya.

    The author said he wanted to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the economic hardship in Niger Delta.

  • Amaechi urges supporters to mobilise for victory in 2019

    THE Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has told his supporters to mobilise and register more voters for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure victory for the party in the 2019 General Elections.

    He spoke yesterday during a ward-to-ward sensitisation visit, tagged: “Operation Show Your Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)” to communities in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    Amaechi, a former Rivers State governor, stated that the only way to benefit from government was to elect good leaders.

    He said: “You need to work hard, because if we do not win, you will not get any benefit. The day we win is the day we should expect change in Rivers State.

    “When we win, we will focus more on bettering the lots of our people, because I believe that things should change. The only way to effect that change is to go to your various units and wards and commence new registration of members. I expect the new members to have their PVCs that are the tool you will use to remove bad leaders.”

    APC’s candidate for Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency of Rivers State, Mr. Ezemonye Ezekiel-Amadi, said: “This exercise goes to show that our people are ready to make a change in 2019. It shows that we are ready to mobilise our people for victory, but that does not mean we should go to sleep. We also need to work harder. With what we are seeing today, I can assure you that we will win the elections any time, any day,” he said.

  • Aisha Buhari, Amaechi, others for WIMAFRICA conference

    WIFE of the President, Aisha Buhari ,will lead 22 of her African counterparts as guests of honour to the 2018 Women in Maritime Africa Conference (WIMAFRICA) slated for October 29-30.

    Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, will also be part of dignitaries expected to attract leading female figures in the sector.

    President, Women WIMAFRICA Nigerian Chapter Jean Anishere, said the conference tagged Trade facilitation for African integration-Prospects and challenges will focus on supporting the success of women in maritime, transportation and related industries in Africa.

    Anishere, who is also the first Vice President WIMAFRICA Africa chapter, said: “It will offer excellent opportunities for career development, authentic leadership and productive networking for women and those who venture to support them.”

    The forthcoming Conference Anishere said would plunge Women in Maritime Africa (WIMAFRICA) to the Nigerian Society, “many industries in Nigeria do not know about the Association unlike the Women’s

    Some of the speakers, according to her, include Dr. Kofi Mbiah, former Head of Legal unit, IMO; Mrs. Monica Mbanefo; former Minister for Interior Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho; CEO Nigeria Stock Exchange Oscar Onyeama; SG Of Abuja MOU Mrs. Mfon Ekong Usoro; Chairman of ENL Consortium Princess Vicky Haastrup; CEO of Oceanserve Logistics Mrs. CFO Ezenwa; Premier DG of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping Mrs. Ify Àkerele and Chairman of the Nigeria Ship Owners Forum Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi, among others.

     

  • ‘Buhari made Amaechi campaign DG again to reward his hard work’

    The representative of Rivers East , Senator Andrew Uchendu, has described the reappointment of Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, as the director-general of Buhari/Osinbajo Re-election Campaign Organisation as a reward of excellence, hard work, commitment and loyalty by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Uchendu, who is the acting chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement, yesterday in Port Harcourt, through his media aide, Solomon Okocha, noted that the reappointment of the former Rivers governor showed the level of confidence Buhari had in Amaechi.

    Read also: Amaechi not responsible for Abe’s political woes – APC chieftain

    The senator said: “On behalf of the people of Rivers State, I am grateful to President Buhari for finding our son and leader, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, worthy of piloting the affairs of his re-election bid.

    “What I can deduce from Amaechi’s re-appointment is the fact that President Buhari is a man who rewards excellence, hardwork, commitment and loyalty. The President has spoken a thousand words with the singular act.’’