Power Must Rotate In Rivers State – Amaechi

In spite of being criticised his position, Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, has restated his support for power to be rotated in Rivers state.

Amaechi made the assertion in Port Harcourt at a defection ceremony of “I See U’”, a socio-political group from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC).

Represented by Senator-elect, Chief Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East), Amaechi said he would continue to be blunt in spite of attacks on his person on the basis of his political position and opinion.

“I have been crucified, misunderstood, accused of being disrespectful and blunt because of my position on rotation in Rivers but I sincerely stand on it; power must rotate in this state.

“I am an Ikwerre man, we held power for eight years and by default, another Ikwerre man is in the government house.

“It is important that in a multi-ethnic and plural state like Rivers, power must be seen to rotate to maintain equity and fairness; this is why people want to crucify me,” he said.

2019 election

Amaechi urged the defectors to join hands with APC to elect a government that would represent justice in 2019.

“We are Rivers people, we all own this state; it’s not anybody’s private property.

“Be assured that you all have stakes in this party, and so the welfare of all citizens of Rivers is our responsibility,” he said.

According to the minister, as the opposition party in the state, they will continue to encourage Gov. Wike to do the right things via constructive criticism.

“Nobody is an island of knowledge; we must make him to learn from good Nigerians, emulate other people and bring the dividends of democracy to the state.

“We want a state where the federal allocations are properly utilised to the benefit of the people,” he added.

Defection

Speaking earlier, the National Leader of the “I See U” group, Chizi Nyeomasila, said that he was defecting with his members to the APC because Gov. Wike had turned himself into a super sole administrator.

According to Nyeomasila,  Rivers people are not participating in the governance of the state because the governor carries on as if he knows all.

He claimed that the group has 108,000 members in the state and would ensure that they are all registered with the APC.

“What we are having today is executive defection, 15 executive members from each of the wards in the state.

“We will empty our members into the APC, and I assure you that PDP will fail in 2019.”