Jonathan and Amaechi Cold War: Police Stops Students From Inspecting Projects of Rivers State Governor Amaechi

 

 

 

 

I heard this gist from a student who resides in Port-Harcourt, that police refused to allow students who where on a social club tour to inspect certain projects of Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Ameachi on Friday....... ThisDay Nigeria got first hand information of what happened.

 

it's so obvious that Nigerian leaders hardly practice what they preach.....they preach unity yet they are so far from their lectures, they preach peace, unity, oneness but their words stinks of gutter. Am particularly referring to the cold war between His Excellency President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi.

 

This begs for answer; if there was no issue between both parties as the First Lady would want Nigerians to believe, do you think the students would have been stopped, interrogated, held for an hour and made to sign an undertaking? What do you think?

 

See Excerpt from ThisDay Nigeria.

The police in Rivers state,  Friday, prevented over 500 youth on an inspection tour of projects executed by the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, on suspicion that they were going on a protest against President Goodluck Jonathan.

The youth, who were camped at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), were attending a retreat organised by Rotary International, District 9140 for young leaders.

Amaechi was the Special Guest of Honour and keynote speaker at the event on Thursday from where he invited the teenagers for an inspection tour of his projects after criticising Jonathan’s administration.

THISDAY gathered that as luxury buses belonging to the state government came into RSUST yesterday morning to convey the students, about 10 police vans loaded with anti-riot policemen stormed the institution and stopped the youth from embarking on the tour
.One of the teenagers, who would not wish to be named, said the organisers of the retreat questioned the motive of the police and was told that intelligence reports had revealed that the real intention of the tour was to protest against Jonathan.

He said the policemen, who prevented them from the leaving the campus for over one hour, said the state  commissioner of police instructed that none of the youth should be allowed to exit the campus until he ascertained that the movement was not sinister and would not lead to a breakdown of law and order.

Another youth also said the organisers of the retreat were asked by the police to write an undertaking that they were not organising a demonstration over the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) or the federal government.

However after some consultations between the riot policemen and their superiors, the youth were allowed to leave the campus.
Reacting to the incident, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the action of the police was worrisome because the State government never mobilised anyone to protest against the President and the federal government.
According to her, “The governor invited them (the youth) to take a tour of Port Harcourt and see some of the projects.  But on the morning of Friday September 20, as the young people were preparing to leave the campus, they were stopped by the police.

“The DPO said they heard reports that the children were mobilising to protest against the President. The organisers explained that this was not the case, but police queried why they had so many buses taking them out.
“The organisers were made to sign a statement promising that they were not mobilising the children for a protest. The police asked them not to clap, sing or protest.”

When THISDAY contacted the Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Angela Agabe (DSP) to get the police’s side of the incident, she declined to speak on the incident.

She said she had been redeployed and would formally hand over to her successor on Monday. “Whatever questions you have, you can save them till Monday when the new person will take over,” she said.

But in its reaction, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called on Nigerian students to be wary of the Rivers State government’s plan to engage them to protest against Jonathan.

The party in a statement issued yesterday by Jerry Needam, Media Adviser to the State Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah, said it was aware of a ploy by officials of the Rivers State government to induce students from secondary and tertiary institutions in the State on a demonstration to Government House, Port Harcourt, during which the students would be made to make comments condemning the style of leadership and policies of the Federal Government under Jonathan.

It alleged that the government had planned to spend about N32o million on the plot and that some supporters of Amaechi were already preparing placards that would be handed over to the students during the protest.

“It is unwise and most regrettable for a responsible Nigerian student to allow himself or herself to be used in fighting dirty and ignorantly for politicians who themselves created the problem.

The problem in the State was created by Governor Amaechi and co-travellers because of his (Amaechi’s) 2015 political ambition, and it would be wrong for students to be hauled into it,” the party said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Godspower Ake faction of the party sympathetic to Amaechi, through its spokesman, Mr. George Ukwuoma-Nwogba, has described the statement by Needam as “another macabre dance and cheap blackmail, a clear show of defeatism even in the face of total reconciliation going on in our party  because this political jobbers will stop at nothing to scuttle the peace effort of the president and our former leaders to put the party to its proper perspective for fear of staying away without job.”

He said it was not true that Amaechi would call out students to demonstrate against the federal government.
“Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who also doubles as the chairman Nigerian Governors’ Forum has invested heavily in education in the state and his achievement in free and compulsory child education in Rivers State is highly appreciated and acclaimed as the best. Therefore, he cannot be seen impeding teaching and learning by calling our precious and highly priceless children for demonstrations,” he said.