Rivers PDP Leadership Bunch Of Liars Says Rivers Govt.
The Peoples Democratic Party, Rivers State Chapter has accused the state government of stalling the investigations of some top officials involved in the political crisis rocking the state, especially the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Otelemabama Amachree.
The party said that it expected the Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu to act swiftly based on the alleged plot by unnamed persons to murder Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
The allegation was made by the speaker, who has not be seen in public since the police got a go ahead from a Port Harcourt based court three weeks ago to interrogate him on the matter.
The Party, speaking through Jerry Needam, the media Special Adviser on media to the state PDP chairman, Hon. Felix, the party said that the swift response of the police on the matter would douse the tension and fears already created by the assassination plot as alleged by Otelemaba Dan Amachree.
It noted that it would also reassure the citizenry of police impartiality and commitment in crime prevention and protection of lives and property in the state.
“It is important that the Police refuses to yield to pressure of compromise by the Rivers State Government, as acting otherwise will further leave the people with ill feelings and lack of confidence in the activities of our Police force”, the Party said.
“We therefore call on the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu to prove his affirmation by the Inspector General of Police as a professional and non-partisan Police Officer, by respecting the decisions of the court and acting in accordance with the law. He should urgently arrest and investigate the impeached Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree for raising false alarm, claiming to have uncovered plots by some persons to assassinate an eminent personality, like the Governor of Rivers State, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi.
“In such a serious matter as this, the people deserve to know the truth and see that the culprit(s) are punished accordingly. The only way we can get to the truth is by investigating this serious allegation so that even the Governor, whose life is said to be in danger can be at peace”, the party stressed.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State government has described the leadership of the state PDP as a bunch of liars for saying it is unable to pay July, 2013 Salaries of civil Servants.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, David Iyofor, in a statement, said the party chairman, Felix Obuah and members of the executive have consistently lied to score cheap political points.
He said the Amaechi administration was committed to the welfare of workers in the State
“It’s amazing how low these people (Obuah group) can go in the name of playing politics. You can’t stand truth on its head because you want to fish for a reason to abuse and attack Governor Amaechi. Felix Obuah and his co-travellers should stop playing politics with the lives of Rivers people.”
“They claim Governor Amaechi could not pay workers’ salaries but even before they started peddling their wicked lies, civil servants’ salaries in the State were been paid and the payment is on-going. This can be easily verified both from the banks and civil servants; and the State leadership of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), the two umbrella unions of the workers. As the banks furnish the State Ministry of Finance with the new 10 digits United(NUBAN) Account Numbers from the old 13 digit Account Numbers, payments are been made. Anybody that does transaction with any bank is aware of the recent migration by banks from the old 13 digit Account Numbers to the 10 digit new Unified (NUBAN) Account Numbers.”
“Indeed, Obuah and his fellow co-travellers deserves our pity and sympathy as they seem to suffer from a chronic case of selective amnesia, otherwise, they would have known that Governor Amaechi do not joke or play politics with the welfare of workers and that’s why Rivers State today pays N22, 000(Twenty-Two Thousand Naira) minimum wage which is more than the national/federal minimum wage of N18,000(Eighteen Thousand Naira).
“It is on record that presently, the Amaechi administration pays one of the highest civil service salary scale in the country, and with absolutely no backlog of unpaid salaries. And just in case Obuah and his group do not know, that is what is call commitment to workers’ welfare. This again, is something Obuah and his group can easily verify.”
“The Rivers State government finances under the leadership of His Excellency, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi continues to be robust and administered in a prudent, accountable and transparent manner as can be witnessed by the growing internally generated revenue profile and timely funding of workers’ salaries and welfare related expenditures, numerous infrastructural projects and social programmes in the State. It is therefore grossly misleading, irresponsible and repugnant for the Felix Obuah and his co-travellers to say otherwise”, the statement concluded.
