Monday, 1 July 2013
Wike betrayed me, I personally submitted his name to President Jonathan for ministerial appointment – Amaechi
Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, betrayed him despite helping him secure a Ministerial appointment.
Wike, who also hails from the same community as the governor, was Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff.
However, both men have been at loggerheads on issue bordering on the 2015 elections, with Wike supporting the presidency against his former boss.
Amaechi spoke on Saturday during a church service to mark the 60th birthday of the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief O.C.J. Okocha, at the Emmanuel Anglican Church in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Reacting to questions by the officiating priest, the Bishop of Anglican Communion, Niger Delta Diocese, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, the governor regretted that most of the individuals he helped attained high positions had turned against him.
They include Wike and the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Okpara.
His words, “This will be the first time I will be talking about my former Chief of Staff in public. My former Chief of Staff is too small for me to talk about. I don’t want to discuss him and I have never done that before. Today will be my first and last day.
“There are men with character and there are men without character. I don’t believe that money can solve all problems and I don’t worship money.
“My greatest fear is that where am I going after here on earth? Let me also tell you that I have been betrayed several times in politics and majority of those who betrayed me are from my Ikwerre ethnic group.
Continuing, he recalled how the people of Ikwerre cried of marginalization before he assumed office.
“Before I became a Speaker, can we look back at Ikwerre history? We were crying; we wanted governor, we wanted this and that. The last ministerial appointment was Chief Emmanuel Aguma, a long time ago, and that was the last Ikwerre Ministerial appointment.”
Ameachi lamented that despite his support and friendship, Opara left him in the cold when he needed him most.
Speaking further, “Again, you can ask Mr. President, I submitted his name (Nyesom Wike) as minister. Where is he now? I, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, submitted his name as minister to President Jonathan. But where is he now? You must have character, you must be known for something,” he said.
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