Rivers killings: Amaechi and Wike exchange words

Wike and Amaechi

THE feud between the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and the Governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike, reached a boiling point yesterday when the former accused the latter of being responsible for the deaths recorded in the state during the 2015 general elections.

 During a public lecture in Port Harcourt to mark his 50th birthday, Amaechi said that God would not allow a killer to be the governor of Rivers State. Adding that Wike was his chief of staff and record was with him. 

But Wike, who had attended another public lecture in the state capital, said he had no record of killing anybody and he was optimistic that he would be sworn in as the governor of the State on May 29th despite moves by Amaechi to scuttle his inauguration. He also expressed displeasure that a public officer like Amaechi could speak in manner that was not expected of him.

Amaechi said, “In a bid for Wike to be governor, he hired …. an ex-militant. They killed a young man in Okrika and cut off his private parts. They slashed a young man’s throat and decided to hang his head on a tree.

“When I wanted to become governor, God took me aside and allowed Rivers people to vote for Celestine Omehia and He brought me back. So, nobody died. In 2011, the opposition joined us to vote for us; nobody died.

“But because of one man’s ambition, we were losing human beings everyday. Walking like a thug, killing people like a thug. The God I worship will answer our prayers. God will not allow those who kill people to be governor of Rivers State. God will allow only those who worship Him. I am not perfect.

“Even some of you pray more than me. My priest told me God said we would defeat Nyesom Wike. God said so. The same way God told me in 2007 that I would be governor. God will not allow us to make a killer, somebody who has killed human beings, to become the governor of Rivers State.

“I have been listening to Mr. Nyesom Wike and I have been trying not to reply him. He has been accusing me of corruption and I have been trying to keep quiet over the issue of corruption. A thief cannot call me corrupt. The first lesson he needs to learn is that he was Chief of Staff to my government. If I have no records, I have records on him.

“Why Nyesom Wike is talking the way he is talking is that they are looking for us to come and negotiate with them, so that they can illegally stay in office. They cannot stay like that. We are already in court (tribunal),” Amaechi said.