RIVERS State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has described poverty as the biggest affliction plaguing the country, blaming years of bad administration.

Amaechi spoke last night at the 1041th Wilton Park Conference in West Sussex, United Kingdom.

The governor spoke on the broad theme, ‘Ending Internal Conflict: Comparative Approaches to Stabilisation and Counter-Insurgency, the Niger Delta Example.

Amaechi said 90 per cent of the internal conflicts in Nigeria are economic-driven, caused by years of bad administration and misapplication of the resources of the country.

Amaechi said "besides the Niger Delta, there are crises in the North; Boko Haram (Islamic religious fundamentalist sect) is in northern Nigeria. There is the Jos crisis,  virtually all the crisis or conflicts in Nigeria have economic origins or base, and this is because of the inability and failure of successive governments to manage the huge resources we have in the country.

"I honestly don’t see how the Niger Delta crisis fits into what you call insurgency. I don’t, because it’s just crime and this is because of the weakness and failure of the institution of government in Nigeria.

‘’These so called militants leverage upon this failure to commit these crimes. Endemic corruption,  have nearly killed governance in Nigeria. And it has affected virtually every sector or institution in Nigeria", he said.
http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/news/6823.html

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But while kidnappers were only abducting individuals; the National Assembly, on the other hand, had effectively kidnapped the nation and its economic and financial resources. The unstated reality is that the whole nation is really one big hostage kidnapped by its leadership; and it is every day, day in, day out, paying billions of Naira in ransom. This perpetual tithe, which is the aggregate of national plunder to which leaders at various levels help themselves; and which is collected at every level from the Presidency down to the level of office-file pushers is, so to speak, the nation’s Gross Domestic Ransom, GDR, which is fast catching up with the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
It will not be an exaggeration to say that at the rate we are going within the next two decades or so, politicians and top public officers, serving and retired, will be richer than the nation. There are none so blind as those that cannot see. Today, if instead of innocent Nigerians, the kidnappers had targeted looters of the nation’s treasuries and riggers of its elections, the people might well have applauded.
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Kettle calling pot black. This Governor who is wasting so much money and destroying edifices built by previous administrations is taking about mal-administration. Tomorrow, another Governor will come and condemn all he has also built. Please, do we need to start mentioning the wastages in Rivers State and the carry-go attitude of the so-called local contractors in Rivers State?

Though what he said is correct, i would have preferred someone who has not partaking in the national mess Nigeria is to make such a comment.

I know I will be attacked by his followers here but, let the truth be said.