RIVERS State Governor and Chairman of the
Nigerian Governors' Forum, Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi, has expressed worry over the
declining level of security in the state.
Amaechi said cases of armed robbery and
kidnapping, which had been curbed not long
ago, were currently on the rise in the state.
The governor, who spoke on Tuesday night
when a former Minister of Petroleum, Prof. Tam
David-West, led a delegation on a solidarity visit
to the Government House in Port Harcourt,
expressed pessimism over the State Police
Commissioner, Mr. Joseph Mbu's commitment
to security in the state.
He pointed out that the state government could
no longer hold Security Council meeting because
the police commissioner was always divulging
deliberations at such meeting.
Amaechi explained that he would soon organise
a protest if the anomalies on security in the
state continued, even as he urged the former
minister not to hesitate to join others during the
protest.
Amaechi said, "I will give you snippets of the
letter I am trying to send to the President.
"Somebody at the top changed our
Commissioner of Police and brought a man that
when we finishes Security Council meeting, he
goes to report who said what and we are
unable to hold any Security Council meeting
anymore because of that.
"Insecurity is threatening to come back.
Kidnapping is on the rise; armed robbery is on
the rise because they have hijacked the security
of the state. The Commissioner of Police reports
to them in Abuja directly.
"He (Commissioner of Police) doesn't report to
the governor; he has nothing to do with the
government. He takes away security men from
commissioners and post them to the chairman
of Port Harcourt Club."
He expressed the need for the Federal
Government to realise that the state was tired
of tyranny and impunity.
He said, "We want the Federal Government to
remember that the reason for which the Federal
Government did not support state police is
because they say the governors will mismanage
state police.
"Then the federal police should not be
mismanaged against us because the federal
police is an institution for all Nigerians."
On the crisis in the Nigerian Governors' Forum,
Amaechi stated that he would soon call a
meeting of the forum if the Governor Jonah
Jang-led faction failed "to see reason."
He observed that Jang had been unable to
convene a meeting where majority of the
governors attended.
Amaechi said, "Yesterday, my friend and
brother, the Governor of Plateau State,
convened a meeting of some governors. To
prove that we won the election, only 16
governors went and he has never held a
meeting where they are more than 16
governors.
"We shall very soon call our own meeting
because we have been trying hard to talk to
them and talk to everybody for them to see
reason why we need to be together and respect
democracy.
"Their non-acceptance of the will of the
governors is undemocratic. They should not
have put themselves forward for election
because if you don't accept results when you
don't win, then you are not democratic.
"Anybody who recognizes my brother Jang (as
NGF chairman) is also undemocratic because
even that person may not accept any election
result that does not favour him. Let the will of
the people be expressed and let us respect the
sanctity of their decision."
Earlier, David-West had lamented the travails of
the state governor, describing him as a victim of
injustice and promised that he (Amaechi) would
prevail in the end.

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