Posted by By MODESTUS CHUKWULAKA, Abuja on
Abuja former minister of Transport, Dr. Abiye Sekibo yesterday accused Governor Chibuike Amechi of playing to the gallery with the security situation in Rivers State, and warned of the danger of playing politics while the state burns.
Abuja former minister of Transport, Dr. Abiye Sekibo yesterday accused Governor Chibuike Amechi of playing to the gallery with the security situation in Rivers State, and warned of the danger of playing politics while the state burns.
He advised the governor to learn from the mistakes of his predecessors on how to deal with a multi-ethnic state like Rivers State.
Sekibo was reacting to the recent visit of the governor to Okrika, (Sekibo's home town), during which the governor threatned to black list the area in the scheme of development in the state and arrest political leaders if Ateke Tom, one of the alleged leaders of a militant group in the state is not arrested.
'Unfortunately, the governor as chief security officer of the state, rather than genuinely work with security agencies to restore law and order in the state, prefers to play politics and play to the gallery," he said.
According to him, Amechi's utterances were 'intended to further divide and destroy the communities and in fact, precipitate inter-communal crises."
Sekibo condemned the activities of various cult and militant groups in the Niger Delta region, and lamented that their activities were destroying the strides the region had made in the past.
Putting down Amechi's threeat to politics, the ex-minister stated that the governor's grouse with leaders of Okrika may not be unconnected with the fact that some Okrika leaders have refused to work with the 'unelected" government in the state. 'Such threats will not deter me from seeking judicial redress in this matter because it is the right of all Nigerians to know the position of the constitution under such a situation," he said.
The former minister also called on youths of Rivers State origin and the Niger Delta region generally, who are still carrying arms for whatever reason to lay down their arms and embrace peace as their activities are adversely affecting the business climate in the region.
'We are loosing. All businesses are fast relocating to Lagos. Business is booming in Lagos, while Port Harcourt is dying. We must not let this happen to the capital of the South-South," he said.