'You Are Not My Prefect' -Amaechi Replies Jonathan

Gov. Rotimi Amaechi

Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi, has reminded the Presidency that President Goodluck Jonathan is not his ‘Prefect’ and thus, could not threaten him of sanctions for criticizing the President for neglecting the state.  Certainly, the fallout of the mega rally organised by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi last Saturday, is yet to go away.

President Jonathan

The Presidency had angrily reacted to a claim made by Amaechi that the cause of the frosty relationship between him and the President was because President Goodluck Jonathan hates Rivers people that is why he ceded Soku oil wells in Kalabari to Bayelsa and 40 Etche oil wells also in Rivers to Abia state.

Amaechi had said at mega rally that President Jonathan had claimed that All Progressives Congress, APC, exists only on billboards in Rivers at the South-South PDP rally in Ogbe Stadium, Benin with 20,000 capacity. Amaechi said he decided to test his popularity by organising the rally in the 40,000 capacity stadium he built.

Amaechi said this in response to the statement from the office of President Jonathan, which accused him of “Political rascality”.

The statement was signed by Dr. Reuben Abati.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Ibim Semenitari said Governor Amaechi is an elected official and not a mere prefect.

Semenitari also faulted Abati, for failing to get his facts right before publishing the statement despite his wealth of experience.

She added that Amaechi never mentioned the name of the President nor his wife during his speech at the rally.

Semenitari said, “I would want to say that the Presidential Spokesman should be careful for the kind of threats he issues to an elected Governor.

“He should remember that the President is not a prefect of the governor. He was elected as President just as the Governor was elected as a governor, and Nigeria is a federation.

“And please, Abati should know his limits and need not attempt to cross his boundaries.

“It is a bit strange to hear the kind of comments coming out of the Presidency and this showed that that statement was already prepared before governor Amaechi spoke.

“At no point in his speech did Governor Amaechi make any references. His wife was not even discussed because she is not an official of government.

“I do not understand where or how Mr. Abati got his story, so we just take it that this is one of those clear indications of rascality within the Presidency trying to call a dog a bad name and hang it”. 

Original story written by Okafor Ofiebor for TheNEWS magazine