Monday 23 September, 2013 Updated 20:11
23 Sep 2013

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo

A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chibudom Nwuche, has urged the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to desist from castigating President Goodluck Jonathan and inciting Nigerians against his administration.

Nwuche, who was reacting to remarks made by Amaechi over the alleged delay in completing the ongoing East-West Road project, said it was the lack of a good road network within Rivers State that had hampered commercial and social life, and made the state unattractive to both foreign and local investors.

In a statement made available to THISDAY in Abuja yesterday, Nwuche, who hails from the state, advised that instead the governor should try and address the myriad of problems facing the state which are crying out on all fronts – from lack of infrastructure and basic healthcare to unemployment and youth restiveness.

He lamented the exodus of major oil companies from Port Harcourt to better governed states like Lagos, pointing out that the irony of Port Harcourt being the hub of oil production in the country, with all the key players like Shell, Mobil, Chevron and lately Agip operating out of Lagos, should constitute a big challenge to a serious governor whose duty it is to ensure that these investments return to the state.

Nwuche also asked Amaechi to try and appreciate the clear distinction between the roles and responsibilities of the federal government as against that of the state with respect to ensuring the provision and maintenance of infrastructure which has direct bearing on the lives and economy of the people of the state.

“What stops Amaechi from repairing the state stretch of the road with the over N2.4 trillion naira he has collected as federal allocations and internally generated revenue in the past six years.

“No law bars state governments from repairing federal roads, like Anambra and Akwa Ibom States did and asked for refunds,” he further observed.

He pointed out that notwithstanding the fact that it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Niger Delta to ensure the completion of the East-West Road (and work on the road is clearly going on), to claim that Jonathan is the cause of imaginary delay of the road project is not only mischievous but also a ploy to misinform the public.

He further cautioned respected organisations and groups not to be in a hurry to honor persons, who were still serving in office so as to be able to properly assess such persons at their completion of service.

The politician also reasoned that promoters of such a venture should be more circumspect in the choice of persons whom they bestow honours on, pointing out that it would be shameful if it turns out that those they honour today would tomorrow be facing charges of corruption and embezzlement of public funds.

Well said, Mr. Nwuche.
A good advise from a brother to another. However, Ramaechi and some of his misguided RIkwerre folks don't see you as a brother.

Amaechi is a spent force, only time will tell!

tomakint: Amaechi is a spent force, only time will tell!

tomakint the zombie is here again. I thought I asked you to find a mat to sleep.

payless:


tomakint the zombie is here again. I thought I asked you to find a mat to sleep.

Stop dogging me around bingo

tomakint:
Stop dogging me around bingo

tomakint the zombie, who took away your mat? I said find a place to rest your mighty head.

Why are you guys afraid of Amaechi? your shoeless president incited Nigerians against himself when he increased fuel price, allowed Boko haram to continue killing Nigerians and allowed corruption to continue unchecked. I hope you guys won't blame Amaechi if he looses the election in 2015. Nigerians ain't stupid! we are all watching the political scene play out.

dinggle: Why are you guys afraid of Amaechi? your shoeless president incited Nigerians against himself when he increased fuel price, allowed Boko haram to continue killing Nigerians and allowed corruption to continue unchecked. I hope you guys won't blame Amaechi if he looses the election in 2015. Nigerians ain't stupid! we are all watching the political scene play out.

You miss the point fron Mr. Nwuche.

Nwuche too don get mouth
Kai Ameachi na u cause am, see this over grown baby that has been selling his father's properties to make ends meet
Nwuche's problem with Ameachi started when against many persons advice Ameachi benevolently awarded this talkative, two of the primary schools to construct and Nwuche tried to abscond with the mobilization but was harassed by Intercontinental bank who signed the APG and was forced to sell the contract, coupled with his 'loss' @ the primaries when he was contesting for Senate has turned him into Ameachi's enemy.
Nwuche is just after his stomach and should not be taken seriously, last week I saw him in NDDC head office trying to facilitate payment for his contracts that were awarded to him since 2003 to construct borehole and roads in his community.
Let Nwuche tell his community just one thing he has ever done 4 them (not his father ooh) before opening his mouth to talk.

PS: Nwuche is my friend

dinggle: Why are you guys afraid of Amaechi? your shoeless president incited Nigerians against himself when he increased fuel price, allowed Boko haram to continue killing Nigerians and allowed corruption to continue unchecked. I hope you guys won't blame Amaechi if he looses the election in 2015. Nigerians ain't stupid! we are all watching the political scene play out.

you should be constructive.Fuel price have been steady hence,far from being a problem to any Nigerian.Buhari is d brain child of Boko whom we shall still come for b4 2016(this is if truelly you want corruption to get dusted)..Fresh air jaree

No matter how u people polish incompetence, it still remains incompetence. Presidency is not a thing for the babies.

ochilikoko: you should be constructive.Fuel price have been steady hence,far from being a problem to any Nigerian.Buhari is d brain child of Boko whom we shall still come for b4 2016(this is if truelly you want corruption to get dusted)..Fresh air jaree

You must be a dunce to keep chanting this "boko haram is the brainchild of Buhari" nonsense.where you too small or too busy playing "mummy and daddy play" to read the papers when the former NSA said "PDP is boko haram and boko haram is PDP"? Or when Mr president himself buttressed this by saying boko haram has infilterated his government? Or you're probably too dense to remember. Abeg its high we called a spade a spade and not a garden tool. As for all of you chanting fresh air, I guess you're refering to the fresh artificial air coming from your a/c. Fresh air my black hairy a55

HON. CHIBUDUM NWUCHE AND POLITICS OF THE STOMACH



A prominent analyst who is conversant with Rivers politics once told me that politicians in our State are merely suffering from a withdrawal syndrome. Once upon a time, they had a governor who was available to settle himself and everyone heavily by dolling out tonnes of patronage.  Suddenly they now have a different person, one who cares very little about patronage or who does it in his own way.

That is why many of them are bitter and that is in summary what the whole fight is all about. The day Mr. Rotimi Amaechi decides to open the treasury and share the money to these so called stakeholders, then normalcy will return overnight. They will stop the name calling and Amaechi will suddenly become a ‘good man’.  Am I surprised? Not at all! Rivers State is a mirror image of the character of an average Nigerian politician. It is all about killing the antelope and sharing it among select few!

But there are a few people who you will naturally want to make excuses for due to their background and pedigree. One of those persons probably will be someone like the former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Chibudom Nwuche. But one is shocked about a few comments associated with him lately.  As a trained lawyer from a noble background, one will expect that the former Deputy Speaker will behave differently even when speaking against Amaechi has become a lucrative job for Rivers politicians based in Abuja.. Rather, he has chosen to play to the gallery.  Reading his interview on the Punch of the 13th June, one will quickly decipher that the former Speaker is either hungry or looking for attention.  What interests does he want to protect? What stake is he demanding for?  Is it about the people of Rivers State or his personal pocket? What does he want the Rivers State Governor to do for him so that he will start defending him?

Why is the Deputy Speaker so desperate to tarnish the image of the Governor that he will start to spread outright falsehood. Last year during the 47th birthday of Governor Amaechi, the former Deputy Speaker was his guest. Since then he has been a regular visitor in Brick House.  At least I have been meeting him. He also knows several ways of reaching the Governor. So when did the Governor of Rivers State become inaccessible to the former Deputy Speaker?  Habba!

Mr. Nwuche also alleged that the Governor wants to retire most of the notable politicians in Rivers State.  That is another falsehood. When Governor Amaechi took over, he launched an initiative known as Rivers Money for Rivers People. Though that initiative, the Rivers State Governor encouraged qualified contractors who are indigenes of the state to compete for contacts in several projects areas that the state government was involved in.  Many notable Rivers sons and daughters participated and got many contracts. Some of them were completed successfully while some others are still ingoing. However there are a few politicians who claimed competence in several areas and came forward for contract awards. Many of them could not deliver and abandoned their jobs midway and the Governor was left with no choice than to cancel some of them.  What was the Deputy Speaker expecting the Governor to do? Does he want Governor Amaechi to go the way of the past, where public resources are used to settle politicians for doing nothing? If the Deputy Speaker identifies any project where he has competence, he is welcome to bid and if he wins, I am sure that it will be awarded to him.

What Rotimi Amaechi cannot do is to pay monies to those politicians who only talk from Abuja without expressing willingness to partake in the massive opportunities in the state.  There are several things that can be said about the Rivers State Governor. However none of his critics can make any reference to any case of corruption or deliberate misappropriation.  This is a defining moment in the way of playing politics in Rivers State which everyone ought to applaud.  Rotimi Amaechi has demonstrated existential courage where many of his predecessors would have been complacent.

Now let us spend some time on Nwuche’s tenure as a number six man in this country. What can he point to as a single achievement or project he brought to Rivers’ people during the four years he held sway in Abuja. Is it not a big shame that the same people who he is now professing to love so much could not benefit any single thing from him when he was in charge. What moral right does he have to speak for our people? Does he think that we have forgotten that his tenure in Abuja was a legacy of waste and outright betrayal?  Why is bent on reminding us those years of the cankerworm?

Mr. Nwuche’s comments on the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum elections are laughable and patronising.  The whole country knows what happened. The PDP itself is reaching out so as to contain their shame after that NGF election was won and lost. A reputable lawyer (is he) like the Deputy Speaker, should know the simple difference between pre-election endorsement and an actual election.  Why must he condescend so low to a point of endorsing an absurdity just to curry favour from the President? 

Is he one of those misleading the President? Even the President has realized that his real supporters are those who will tell him the truth and guide him with the right strategy.  What people like Chibudom Nwuche and his business partner Nyesom Wike continue to do is to open up fresh frontiers for battle on the President’s behalf.
On the wild allegation that Mr. Amaechi is vying to become the Vice President, nothing can be more ludicrous. This is the point where the Deputy Speaker clearly indicated that he is actually on a blackmail mission. For the avoidance of doubt, there has not be any time whether privately or publicly that the Rivers State Governor indicated explicitly or implicitly to anyone that he is contesting for the post of the Vice President.

Indeed no one ever contests for post of the Vice President. The tradition has been that whosoever emerges the President nominates a running mate based on his preferences and that of the political party he represents.  In a bid to paint the Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum as an over ambitious and disrespectful person, Mr. Nwuche and his collaborators have even gone ahead to print posters on Amaechi’s behalf and are already circulating same across the country.  I am delighted that Rivers people and those who admire Amaechi beyond Rivers State are aware of the destructive ploy of these desperadoes and their negative pranks.  In the past few days, leaders of many ethnic nationalities in Rivers State have been paying solidarity visits to the Rivers State Governor and commending his commitment to good governance and sustainable development.

That clearly demonstrates that they are impervious to the negative propaganda and shenanigans of Nwuche and his cohorts. My candid recommendation to the former Deputy Speaker is this. Rather than stay in Abuja to become a Newspaper tiger for the sake of politics of the stomach. He should come home and tap into the opportunities led by Amaechi to deliver good governance to Rivers people.



http://thewillnigeria.com/opinion/21396.html



This article was written as far back as June.

payless:


tomakint the zombie is here again. I thought I asked you to find a mat to sleep.

payless:


tomakint the zombie, who took away your mat? I said find a place to rest your mighty head.

DAYUMMMMMMN!!

@Abagworo

Seems like you eat out of Amaechi's hands? Man must wack bro.

dinggle: Why are you guys afraid of Amaechi? your shoeless president incited Nigerians against himself when he increased fuel price, allowed Boko haram to continue killing Nigerians and allowed corruption to continue unchecked. I hope you guys won't blame Amaechi if he looses the election in 2015. Nigerians ain't stupid! we are all watching the political scene play out.

What did the governors of those boko haram states do about the security challanges in their state. Na only 2015 campaign and tourism dem sabi.

Shine It: @Abagworo

Seems like you eat out of Amaechi's hands? Man must wack bro.

Lolz . . .

ochilikoko: you should be constructive.Fuel price have been steady hence,far from being a problem to any Nigerian.Buhari is d brain child of Boko whom we shall still come for b4 2016(this is if truelly you want corruption to get dusted)..Fresh air jaree

Was fuel price not steady under Yar'Ardua @ N75?
How many of those who looted the nation via subsidy are in jail today?

@ Nwuche, carry on. pikin way say him papa no go sleep, him sef no go sleep.


Amaechi, fix our roads or us in Port Harcourt

Today yu complain of Mbu, 2moro its Aviation minister, next it will be Naija Delta minister

monorail in 6yrs and yet noting to show for it


long live GEJ

Hahahahahahahahaha.................ha
Nwuche is a comedian like you expect from that part of the country.
Claiming victimhood.
Amaechi started the fight abi?
So your master cannot take what he likes dishing out?