That Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers
state and Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame
Patience Jonathan are at loggerheads is
no longer news. What political watchers
have continued to ask is when did their
disagreements really started?
Amaechi who is known for his
outspokenness and bluntness, must have
made the first lady upset the day she
visited her community, Okirika in Rivers
state.
“Mama Peace” , as she is fondly called by
her admirers, was called upon by her
kinsmen to resuce them after Amaechi
went on a demolition spree in the riverine
community known for having so many
shanties. Amaechi had embarked on an
aggressive re-structuring in order to give
the state a major uplift. The governor had
warned before the commencement of the
demolition exercise that his government
will spare no one in its effort to re-model
the state.
On the day the first lady answered the
clarion call of her kinsmen, as it is
customary in government circles, both
Amaechi and his wife, Judith, were on
hand to welcome Mrs. Jonathan at the
airport and also accompany her to the
demolition site.
On getting to the site, the governor took
time to explain to Mrs. Jonathan why the
demolitions were been carried out and
even went ahead to say the demolitions
will continue. Irked by the Amaechi’s
statement, the first lady stunned everyone
at the gathering when she reportedly
yanked a microphone out of his hands and
lambasted him for being insensitive to the
plight of the people.
Governor Amaechi was said to have left
the scene immediately after the first lady’s
tongue-lashing. That singular act, by the
first lady had dug a wedge in the
relationship of the two personalities who
before then enjoyed a chummy
relationship.
Today, there is no love lost between the
two Rivers citizens. Accusations and
counter-accusations have been the order
of the day and President Goodluck
Jonathan seem helpless to wade into the
matter as he himself has had his own fair
share of confrontations with Amaechi
One can only wish that they resolve their
differences for the good of their state and
indeed for the progress, unity and peace of
Nigeria in general. Below are photos taken
at different fora when Governor Amaechi
and Dame Jonathan were politically in-
separable:

FTC, Dancing galala wearing my agbada and Canvass

#Ihave decided.

We need change.

#sai APC.

Sai GMB 2015