Full text of the press statement:
THE nPDP APC MERGER, MY CONSTRAINTS –
Governor Chibuike Amaechi
My dear people of Rivers State, when by God’s
grace and with your kindness this administration
took over the mantle of leadership on October
26, 2007, we made a promise to serve you “with
humility and render transparent and accountable
stewardship anchored on integrity and good
governance.” We also promised to “use our God
given resources to improve the quality of life of
our present and future generations.”
We made this commitment to you, fully conscious
of the fact that you were hungry for service
delivery and that you had placed on us a burden to
prove to the world that our beloved Rivers State
had the potential to rise above the murk and
redefine governance and leadership in our
country. We understood your mandate very
clearly and we remain resolute in our
determination to make you proud.
In keeping with our pledge therefore to render
transparent and accountable stewardship, it has
become necessary that we brief you about the
recent happenings in our state and my own
position on the issues.
For me, no personal interest or ambition can be
higher than the welfare of a people that gave me
their mandate without conditions. While this
crisis has raged, many have asked me about
what drives my insistence that the Federal
administration treats Rivers state justly and
fairly. To these people I say: I am driven by my
original vision to bring health to the sick, to
extend opportunities for education to children of
all classes, to bring opportunities for employment
to the doorsteps of our youth. I remain stubborn
in the hope that this state deserves the benefits
of good governance. My disagreement is with
some negative forces that stand against the
entitlement of Rivers people to a better life.
It is an indisputable fact that I was elected on
the platform of the People’s Democratic Party--a
conglomeration of several individuals with
different ideals but with a goal of edging out the
military and ensuring a return to democratic
rule. No one was under any illusion that this
would be an easy task but that we have enjoyed
an unprecedented 14 years of uninterrupted
civilian dispensation is a demonstration of how
far we have come in our democratic journey.
However, the vestiges of military dictatorship
have also remained with us, especially within the
context of managing our party but many of us
kept faith. Even when the unfortunate incident of
an attempt to deprive us of our lawful mandate
occurred, we remained with the party urging our
supporters to maintain party loyalty and
discipline. In the face of great provocation we
refused to rock the boat. Our hope was that even
when we suffered personal injury our collective
interests as a state would remain protected
within the party we call our own.
Unfortunately, recent events within the PDP
have given me reason to reconsider our collective
interest as people of the South South and indeed
as Rivers people. At various times, as the one in
whom you had gave your mandate, I had cause to
complain about the marginalization of our state
and our people despite our huge contribution to
the national coffers and our unflinching
commitment and support for the ruling PDP.
While the political and economic importance of
Rivers State cannot be contested, we continue to
hold the shorter end of the stick.
A few instances may suffice:

1) Our demand that the federal government
return oil wells belonging to Rivers State to us
has gone unheeded and been treated with levity
under this administration. Rather, our oil wells
have been ceded to Bayelsa, Abia and Akwa Ibom
states. Even after we got a judgment that the
oil wells were wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom state
and should be returned to us, only dry wells that
were no longer producing oil were returned. In
the specific case of the Soku oil wells, despite a
decision reached that the monies should remain in
an escrow account till all matters concerning it
are resolved, the federal government continues
to pay neighbouring Bayelsa state the
revenues meant for Rivers State in a classic
case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is indeed
noteworthy that we have made several
representations formally and informally on this
matter. Our chiefs and elders have attended
several meetings and protested this injustice to
no avail. As your governor entrusted to keep
guard over your common wealth, we could not keep
quiet and allow this grave injustice. For this
reason, we have been vilified, threatened and
blackmailed but we insist on
discharging our responsibility to you, no matter
the odds.

2) A second instance is the total absence of
federal presence in Rivers State. The "national
good governance tour" provided a good opportunity
for the Federal Government to showcase its
presence in Rivers State. The tour, if nothing
else, was evident that there was not much to
show for in a state that is the cash cow of the
federation. The East west road remains
abandoned, work has been deliberately slow on the
Port Harcourt International Airport, the third
busiest airport in the country, while all airports
started along with it have long been completed
and commissioned. The Bonny-Bomu road
that leads to the only functional liquefied natural
gas project remains uncompleted. In the midst of
all these, our administration went ahead to fix
federal roads to the tune of N103 billion.
Several representations and letters after, not
one kobo has been repaid.

3) The federal government is actively
discouraging investments in Rivers State. The
Minister of petroleum has refused to allow the
commencement of train seven of the NLNG that
would have provided tens of thousands of jobs
insisting that investors should go and invest in
the Brass NLNG project rather than in the train
seven project.

4) When boards and other appointments are
considered at the federal level, Rivers State is
treated with levity. Out of Bleep councils of
universities, no Rivers person was found worthy
of becoming a university council chairman.

5) Internal party democracy has been sacrificed
on the alter of personal greed and injustice as
the Rivers State chapter of the PDP is being run
by persons who neither collected forms nor
indicated interest in running for office while the
legitimate holders of the office are left in the
cold. Our several representations and pleas on
this matter to the party leadership at the
highest levels have gone unheeded and
unanswered. We are left in a quandary and have
been denied the appropriate support to lead our
party in line with acceptable democratic norms.
The result of this is that politicians with
questionable antecedents now hijack the PDP in
Rivers State.
Given the foregoing, it has become clear to us
that we will be unable to achieve our goals and
aspirations as a people under the People’s
Democratic Party as it is presently constituted.
Our quest for a democracy where the people
would remain the focus of government and
governance is bound to suffer a stillbirth under
the present arrangement. We are Nigerians and
people of the Niger Delta, but we are also Rivers
people and live in Rivers state. We are concerned
that our well-being is not central to the
leadership of the PDP. We do not find this
satisfactory. We have therefore decided that it
is in our best interest that we move to a party
that shares the hopes and aspirations of our
people and realizes and recognizes our right to
exist and be treated as equal partners in our
democracy. We are not and will not allow
ourselves to be treated as a second rate poor
cousin. We are equal stakeholders and daresay
major contributors to the common wealth.
It is this mindset that will inform our action in
the coming days. We will of course consult with
all our stakeholders as we try to fashion out a
way forward for us and for our people. We are
convinced that as always you will trust our
commitment to your mandate and to your service.
Finally, let me re-affirm my commitment to the
emancipation of the long-suffering people of
Niger Delta. I know their pains because I have
lived it and I live it everyday. But let me also
say that the pursuit of politics of self-interest
at the expense of development is not the best
way of ensuring justice and equity for the region.
Drafting the police to cause confusion in Rivers
State is not more urgent than completing the
East-West Road or bringing in investments that
will create jobs and prosperity for our people.
To the good people of Rivers State, we are
grateful for your trust and will not treat it with
levity. We promise you that as always, you will be
our primary concern and our priority

Signed
Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON
Governor, Rivers State

Two days ago I challenged a GDI member (Nyesom and GEJ group in Rivers State) to give me a reason why as a Rivers man. I should vote for Goodluck come 2015. He just told me, because he is from Niger Delta. Even their sympathisers know that GEJ administration has never been fair to Rivers People. What I expect them to do (FG) is to shame by initiating a powerful project in the state, maybe through the minister of education or NDDC. Instead what will see is the opposite. They bribe our leaders with money. Campaigning every weekend for GEJ without pointing his achievement in our state.

I'm comin'