Rivers: Wike, Amaechi try to strangle each other again

Nyesome Wike, Rivers State governor, and Rotimi Amaechi, his predecessor, who is the present Minister for Aviation, are not letting down on their determination to run each other down.

Both men have continued to use every given opportunity to castigate, and blame the other for the problems in their home state, and for being the one responsible for the violence witnessed in the recent rerun election in the state, that led to the death of a number of people, including a youth corp member.

Governor Wike at an interview with newsmen stated that Amaechi and his cohorts are too desperate to take over the state, hence their resort to stop at nothing to take it over.

While narrating the events that transpired during the rerun polls, the governor said “A governorship  candidate, (Dakuku Peterside) because his master lost in his LGA, (Ikwerre) they were making trouble. They are too desperate. But it will come to a time when the people will say enough is enough.  We can’t continue this way.”

On his part, Ameachi, in a statement on Saturday, said Governor Wike is a threat to democracy and free and fair elections in the Rivers State.

According to him, the re-run in his Ikwerre Local Government Area (LGA) was inconclusive “because thugs sent by Wike violently disrupted the collation of votes for the LGA.”

He was reacting to allegations by Wike that INEC was plotting to release some of the results in the eight local government areas in favour of the APC.

Amaechi dismissed the governor’s allegation as riotous, disgraceful and shameful.

The minister said that Wike’s “Resort to blackmail, threats and more violence is a clear danger to the practise of democracy, to free and fair elections in Rivers State”.

He continued, “You would recall that Wike has been threatening INEC and INEC officials. Before the re-run elections, he threatened INEC officials coming to conduct the elections to write their wills before coming as if they were coming to die in Rivers State.

“Sadly, an INEC ad hoc staff, a youth corper was murdered. This is a classic case of the owl crying in the night and the baby not waking up in the morning”, he said.