Amaechi(right) and Wike
…says those who left APC to PDP in Rivers are moles
Former Commissioner of Chieftaincy affairs and Commissioner of Special Duties to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, Hon John Bazia has said that Governor Wike cannot be compared with the Minister of Transport and former Governor of the state, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. He said Wike cannot be compared with Amaechi because, according to him, “Wike lacks visionary leadership qualities.”
Bazia, who is also a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, also described as moles, chieftains of the APC in Rivers State who recently(last Sunday) defected to the PDP.
He made the statement while featuring on two live TV programmes in Abuja.
According to him, “Governor Wike cannot be compared to former Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi whose administration touched lives and all sectors of the State’s economy.”
“We are talking about a man (Wike) who lacks vision. He’s like an attack dog. All you hear him doing all the time is name calling. You build one bridge, what has bridge got to do with empowering the people, creating room for sustainability so that you can grow the economy of the state?
“When a man lacks vision, all you hear is name calling. He will even attribute things that have nothing to do with the person whose name is being called, because he lacks vision and does not know what to offer.
“Recently, it’s trending and you can see how it tells a whole lot about the poor quality of these people we are talking about. It’s a video where Wike was accusing Sen. Magnus Abe of not doing a job and that he took over 4billion naira and refused to do a road construction. Then later, Sen. Magus Abe was accusing Wike of awarding over 27 Primary school jobs (contracts) to himself. These are not the kind of people that should be compared to Amaechi,” Bazia said.
He reeled out the many areas Amaechi impacted positively on Rivers State as Governor, stating that he has worked with Amaechi in the past, and with Wike recently and can tell the difference.
“For the records, he (Amaechi) is a man that employed over 13,000 teachers in the education sector, Model Primary schools were built everywhere. As at then, we were rated in the world when it comes to education. Education was taken seriously. If you see the quality of the Secondary Schools that were built in Rivers state, I don’t think we have that kind of thing anywhere else in Nigeria. In the Primary schools, pupils had computers, but as we speak, the present Governor has stopped all that. If you want to build a society, the first thing you do is to build the man in society. Amaechi placed premium on building human capacity, developing them, making them realize their dreams, and there was room for sustainablity.
“Entrepreneurs were given the opportunity; they were trained, empowered to jumpstart the local economies that we have in Rivers state, so things were better. There were Fish farms in Buguma, Opobo, Andoni; people were gainfully employed. We are talking about an economy that was booming under Rotimi Amaechi, because he created jobs.
“The Songhai farm (established by Amaechi) employed young school leavers; there was nothing that was not in there. As we speak today, that’s no longer there; all that job opportunity is lost. The Cassava Processing Plant was also done by Rotimi Amaechi. This same man we are talking about, employed 400 medical doctors; and the Primary Health Centers he built in Rivers state were second to none.
Continuing, Bazia said, “When you look at the man Amaechi, he’s a visionary leader, not the cut and nail thing we have now. You build one bridge, what has bridge got to do with empowering the people and creating room for sustainability so that you can grow the economy of the state? All the health centers were at local council level, and doctors were employed. All you see now (in Wike’s administration) is to build a bridge so that you(Wike) can have easy money, and you think that that’s development?
“I can tell you this because I’ve worked with both of them. I can tell you there’s no way you can compare Amaechi with Governor Wike. It’s just not possible. I mean, we are looking at somebody who is cerebral, visionary; you can see what he is doing in the transportation ministry.
On why he left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), and why erstwhile leaders (former Chairmen of the APC in Rivers State) like Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya and Hon Igo Aguma who recently decamped from the APC to the PDP left, Bazia referred to Governor Wike as “a dictator, emperor and that those who decamped as moles.”
“Wike is so overbearing. All those who are with him, they know what they are going through. You’ve been seeing him on TV, you’ve been seeing the way he’s been behaving in Nigeria. Sometimes you’ll be baffled if that’s an enlightened and educated mind, the way he carries himself, he forgets about the exalted position of the office of the Governor.
“When I decamped, I actually made it very clear. I said that the Governor was beginning to run the state as if we were conquered people, as if Rivers State was his father’s property. And I don’t find that funny, it’s democracy. You can’t have a dictator as a Governor. Recently, they are talking about autonomy for the judiciary, you can see what he’s saying, tongue-in-cheek. How do you say you’ve been giving freedom, autonomy to the judiciary, and the same you who is saying that is fighting that the judiciary shouldn’t have autonomy. You can’t have these kind of people as leaders.”
“On the other hand, these people that we are talking about that defected to the PDP were moles in the APC. Everyone of them that has decamped so far was a mole. I was of the PDP, so I know. They used to come and bring information. APC at daytime, PDP at night. How do you say you are a leader in a political party and you still betray that same political party that you say you are leading. Where’s the honesty; where’s the integrity? How do you take your own party to court, sponsored by those that are outside of your party?”
“The difference between those who left the APC to the PDP and those of us who left the PDP to the APC is very clear. I wasn’t a mole in PDP. If I see that my own interest and the interest of my people are not adequately represented, the first thing I would do as a man of honor is to resign, and then I can begin to criticize them. But the difference between us and them is that they stayed in their party to be moles.
“Rivers people should look at these people; Nigerians should look at these people. They should have nothing to do with them because they lack integrity. You can’t be in a party you don’t like and you are conniving with the opposition to undermine your party to make sure you lose election. So where is the honesty?
Bazia also stated that “rather than name calling, Governor Wike and the others should be thankful to Amaechi for the role he played in building their political careers. I think that Governor Wike should respect Amaechi, if for nothing, he is where he is today because God used Amaechi to bless him,” he concluded.