Politics
That Amaechi’s Style Of Leadership By Example
Leadership can be likened to an art. Whoever does a work of art is called an artist. Works of art definitely spring forth from the heart, it is intrinsic. However, when work is elevated to an artistic level for instance through exemplary leadership, the arrowhead of such a feat can be regarded as an artist. Governor Amaechi could be called an artist in this sense.
In Rivers State, the administration of Governor Amaechi has, in unmistakable terms elevated leadership to an artistic height. His creative ingenuity in crafting a change from what used to be, could be termed an escape from the ordinary and an art of sorts.
Before the emergence of Governor Amaechi, the ordinary man in Rivers State had harboured a negative feeling towards governance. To the citizenry, a feeling that change cannot take place was a familiar sentiment. Change from the old order of contract abandonment, carry go, and sharing of the common wealth of the state was a far-fetched possibility. It was unthinkabl. Infrastructure, to say the least, was at the decaying level.
The health industry, hospitals and clinics were elevated to a prescription center where the presiding doctors and health officials only referred patients to their own privately run hospitals. Security of lives and property was as uncertain and dangerously threatened, Cult boys masquerading as ethnic militias held the state by the jugular. The education sector did not fare better as private schools took the shine off public schools with exorbitant fees which the common man could hardly afford. Power generation begged for a touch. Of course, Water Corporation and its responsibility of giving the people good drinking water was non-existence. Road network in the city capital of Port Harcourt was a sorry issue. No wonder, inter – city and intra-city commuting was a horrendous experience.
However, Governor Amaechi happened to be on the driving seat in the State as Governor and not only made change a reality, he made possible a radical drift from the old order. The masses felt a new breeze caress them. This he did by revamping the infrastructural decadence in the State. For the first time after the departure of Alfred Diette Spiff from the Brick House, the oil wealth in the State was turned into the people’s wealth.
Before Governor Amaechi’s rise to power, the Rivers man never believed a contract could be executed to its end. They never believed that the several roads being constructed today or re-furbished could be done not to talk of finishing them.
But before one could step into the Governor’s massive infrastructural turn-around programmes, there is the important need to talk of his battles with the cult boys in the State which culminated in one way or another into both the insecurity in the State and amnesty saga subsequently.
Quite alright, the Governor was not the one that granted amnesty but his initial refusal to negotiate any deal with militants as his predecessors had one, brought the message of his aversion to them to the fore. This approach made the militants realise the enormity of the menace they constitute to the state and to the masses.
And when it was as if there was to be an impasse in the understanding between his administration and the militants who insisted he must regularly settles them, Joint Military Task Force (JTF) was brought into the State to restore order. After this development security gradually began to sip through the state. The militants got cowed to a reasonable extent. Finally, the amnesty came eventually to help stamp out the menace of the cult boys. Today, Rivers State is one of the safest cities in the country.
Coming away from security, the Governor rolled out a massive agenda of road construction and refurbishment. This agenda has seen such roads like Rumuola to Rumuokwuta, Rumuokwuta to Choba through NTA, Rumuomasi to Rumuobiakani, Ohiamini road starting from Psychiatric Road to Rumuola, Rumuola to Elekahia link Road and a host of others scattered all over the state and not only Port Harcourt metropolis. While some of these roads have been competed others are nearing completion. The Eleme fly – over bridge under this scheme have equally been completed while others are on the verge of completion.
Education is another prominent sector where the governor could thumb himself and his administration up for having done well so far.
First of all, in order to ease the financial burden of Primary School Teachers salaries in the State, the governor elected to take over the payment of primary schools teachers’ salaries thereby creating more funds for the Local Government Chairman to plough into other projects. This impacted positively on the primary education system.
Again, Government further saw the need to inject new life into the primary schools sector and so a total of 350 model primary schools went under a new programme of construction. As at today, 70 to 80% of these schools have been completed. The Governor did not stop there. He followed the primary school style by initiating the construction of 24 new model boarding Secondary Schools all over the 23 local government areas of the state. This new determination to turn around the slide and the drift in education compelled the governor to personally supervise the construction works going on in these Secondary Schools. At the tertiary level, he initiated a bill in the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) that gage birth to the establishment of a law elevating the Rivers State College of Education to University status.
Every sector of the economy under Amaechi’s administration has one reason or the other to blossom. Thus, in the health industry, 160 health centers have been constructed around the state. These have also been properly equipped with modern health apparatus to properly handle issues of primary health delivery. In the same vein, the secondary and tertiary health needs of the state got a boost through the upgrading of some existing hospitals, such as Niger Hospital Emenike street Port Harcourt.
Interestingly, in the health sector, the governor being aware that infrastructure alone cannot do the work has made the training and retraining of personnel to man state hospitals a cardinal programme of his administration through the recruitment of qualified medical personnels.
Unemployment which was one of the reasons why all manner of vices reared their ugly heads in the metropolis and the state generally got a serious consideration with the establishment of the Ministry of Employment and Youth Empowerment. Sustainable development which was to have a direct impact in the state through series of programmes geared towards emancipating the citizenry from the clutches of hunger and starvation had an agency of its own. Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), an autonomous agency set up as multi-sector intervention agency under the office of the Governor to whom the RSSDA Directors report regularly. This statutory establishment with its enabling laws is empowered to undertake projects in a wide variety of areas including youth development and re-orientation, SMES, Education, health, Skills Acquisition, Employment, Local Government, etc.
Principally, the agency tackle rural poverty, build effective community institutions and viable local economies across the rural areas including urban slums but emphasis however here is on youth development.
Within its short period of existence, RSSDA has established scholarship schemes for indigent students both abroad and internally. Under this scheme, over 1,500 students are already studying aboard in different universities. The countries working in liason with RSSDA include UK, Singapore, Canada and Benin Republic, locally too, students are sponsored under this programme.
In agriculture, the agency has set a record in aquaculture and related sectors in the state. Basically, the agency has rigorously supported the production of catfish and fingerlings in the State where millions fingerlings are produced every six weeks for fish multiplication. Cassava production is also supported while enhanced poultry primary is encourage with the stocking of over 45,000 layers which produce enormous quantity of eggs regularly.
To make sure that its programmes are sustained, the Rivers State Government works in concert with the World Bank, USAID, DFID, NNPC, SPDC, NDDC and other agencies of the Federal and Rivers State Government. According to the Director of the Agency, ‘sustainable development is holistic socio-economic transformation of the rural areas of Rivers State with a long term horizon which ensures that the needs of the rural dwellers are met. “This, “ he continued “could only be realised through results – oriented and professionally supported programmes and projects”
There is bountiful evidence to believe that the present Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has no hidden agenda other than to beaqueath a profound legacy of enhanced development whenever he leaves office. However with the sustained and determined drive by the opposition to unseal him, one begins to wonder what the Governor is doing wrong. Is it his determination to revolutionise democracy with his open-door policy, grassroots development, Youth Empowerment, Education for all as is being planned, sustainable development, the construction of a greater Port Harcourt City, development, emancipation of the poor and the needy or what?
Whatever be his sins, the masses in the state are prepared to do any thing to have the hard working Governor come back, if not for any thing for the continuity of the numerous projects that dot the land most of which he either has completed or are between 60-70% in completion. He remains a pace setter.
We at the Center for Good Governance will believe that the people of Rivers State, having suffered so much deprivation should therefore have the best in terms of good leadership which Governor Amaechi exemplifies. Nevertheless should they allow partisan opposition intimidate his administration into capitulation we collectively have ourselves to blame. Continuity is essential in this time.
Nnamdiwrote in from Port Harcourt.
Engr. Chukwu Nnamdi
Operating under the umbrella of the Coalition of Civil Society Network, the group described the ruling delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu as unfair and contrary to the spirit of democracy, urging the judiciary to consider the will of the people in its final determination of the matter.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Thursday, October 30, sacked Gummi for defecting from the PDP, which sponsored his election, to the APC.
In his ruling, Justice Egwuatu held that it was morally wrong for a politician to transfer votes from one political party to another, stating that “political prostitution must not be rewarded.”
He declared that voters elect candidates based on the manifestos and ideals of their political parties. Therefore, it was both legally and morally unacceptable for an elected official to abandon that platform without relinquishing the mandate.
The court also restrained the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, from recognising Hon. Gummi as a member of the House, and ordered him to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, to the date of judgment.
Justice Egwuatu further directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election within 30 days to fill the vacant seat.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1803/2024, was filed by the PDP and its Zamfara State chairman, Jamilu Jibomagayaki, who argued that Hon. Gummi’s defection violated Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as there was no division within the PDP to justify his action.
But convener of the coalition, Lukman Muhammad, who addressed journalists at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, said Hon. Gummi’s defection was a direct result of the unresolved internal crisis within the PDP, which, according to him, crippled the lawmaker’s ability to effectively represent his constituents.
He said: “We believe the court’s decision was unjust and failed to consider the circumstances surrounding Hon. Gummi’s defection. Gummi’s decision to join the APC was necessitated by the unresolved internal crisis within the PDP, which hindered his ability to effectively represent his constituents.
“We affirm that Hon. Gummi’s right to choose his political affiliation is protected by the Constitution and should be respected. We stand for democracy and the rule of law, while also urging the judiciary to consider the will of the people and the greater good”.
He urged Justice Egwuatu to review the judgment, stressing that the ruling could set a dangerous precedent that undermines the principle of fair representation and the rights of elected officials.
The coalition further noted that the judgment has broader implications for Nigeria’s democratic process, as it raises questions about the extent to which lawmakers can exercise their constitutional freedom of association without fear of losing their mandate.
The parties stated that the APC was on the verge of collapse following the recent wave of defections from opposition parties into its ranks.
In separate interviews with The Tide source, spokespersons for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) —Debo Ologunagba, Oladipo Johnson, and Mark Adebayo – respectively, said an implosion was imminent in the APC.
But the APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, stated that recent defections to the party were voluntary and inspired by the ruling party’s achievements, not through coercion. He added that the APC was well-structured, capable of managing its internal affairs effectively, and therefore would not experience any internal crisis.
In recent months, the ruling APC has continued to receive several high-profile politicians from opposition parties, particularly the PDP. Among those who have joined the APC are Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, and the PDP’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa.
Most recently, members of the Enugu State Executive Council defected to the APC, a move followed by Governor Peter Mbah’s official declaration for the ruling party on October 14 in Enugu.
On October 15, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, announced his resignation from the PDP. Although he has yet to join another party, speculation is rife that he is on his way to the APC.
Similarly, Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, confirmed last Wednesday that he would be joining the APC.
Numerous other politicians, including several lawmakers, have also abandoned their parties to align with the ruling APC.
In his reaction, Hon. Ologunagba predicted an imminent crisis within the APC, expressing confidence that those who defected would eventually return to the PDP.
He stated, “This is the major political party (PDP), and it is the only democratic party in the country. It has structures cutting across all the local governments, all the wards, and of course all the states. In every home, there are members of the PDP, and that is why the APC are jittery, and that is why they are coercing our members, using state resources and state agencies to force members of opposition parties to join the ruling party.
“But in all this, we are sure and confident that very soon, the APC will implode because it is a multipurpose political vehicle that is not going to last. It is going to implode.
“Many Nigerians will see through it and know that the party is not a political party that protects the interests of the citizens. So, they are going to leave the party and move to the major political party, which is the PDP. We are optimistic that before 2027, many Nigerians will join us because this is the truly democratic party and the only party that is out there to protect their interests.”
On his part, Mr Johnson of the NNPP lamented that the wave of defections posed a serious threat to the country’s democracy.
Mr Johnson said, “This is bad for democracy. For our type of democracy, it is important to have a proper and effective opposition. Already, we’ve seen a blurring of lines between the legislature and the executive; some would even say the judiciary. I hope not. I think many people are observing the trend and are unhappy. However, we need to be a bit more patient and see what happens soon.
“When the PDP was in power for 16 years, it was the party many people rushed into. Over time, it imploded, and many of those who joined it turned against it. So, I see that happening to the ruling APC. Definitely. This is because of the nature of Nigerian politicians; many are driven by personal interests. I always say that Nigeria can never truly be a one-party state. Even if only one party exists, it will become factionalised, with different interests and power blocs. Those pushing the country toward a one-party system may not have studied Nigeria’s political history carefully.”
In his remarks, CUPP’s Adebayo stated that the pattern of defections among politicians, particularly governors and lawmakers, was a deliberate strategy by the ruling party to transform the country into a one-party state.
Mr Adebayo said, “It is not accidental; it is a deliberate and strategic effort to entrench a one-party dictatorship. Whether these defections are forced or coerced, one thing is clear: it is an intentional action driven by the ruling party, particularly the President.
“This development is unhealthy for our democracy. It is shameful and stands against everything democratic principles represent. It is inimical to the growth and development of Nigeria as a democratic nation and poses a grave threat to our political stability.
“The implosion of the APC will come before or once it loses power. Most Nigerian politicians lack ideological grounding or principles; their loyalty lies only with the party in power. Political affiliation is tied to ideology and conviction, not convenience. However, the ideology of most politicians is simply the ruling party. If tomorrow the ADC, Labour Party, or SDP wins the presidency, many of these same politicians will abandon the APC overnight. They have no shame, no conviction, and no conscience. Their only motivation is proximity to power.”
In response, Mr Ibrahim of the APC maintained the APC would not face any internal crisis, asserting that it has the capacity to effectively manage its affairs, unlike the opposition.
He stated, “The fact that the opposition are not organised and they cannot organise primaries, neither can they manage their parties, does not mean we are on the same boat with them. Our party, the APC, has been conducting primaries successfully and rancor-free.
“So, the fact that they don’t know how to manage their party does not mean that is the way we run our own party. The APC does not coerce anyone to join. Those joining are doing so willingly because of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope achievements. Our party is fully prepared. It’s not going to implode; it’s not going to have any issues similar to the issues they have been having.”
Senator Ndume, in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, accused both the executive and legislative arms of complacency, saying their failure to proactively engage the United States government on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria led to the development.
The senator recalled that he had earlier sponsored a motion in the Senate on “Christian genocide” in the country. The motion, he said, led to resolutions mandating the Nigerian government to engage the U.S. with verified facts and figures.
President Trump, last Friday, announced the designation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ over alleged persecution of Christians.
President Trump made the announcement via a post on his Truth Social platform, which was also shared on the official White House X handle.
“Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” President Trump wrote.
But the Nigerian government swiftly rejected the claims, insisting that President Trump’s assessment did not reflect the true situation in the country.
However, Senator Ndume accused the President Tinubu’s administration and the Senate of treating the allegation raised by US lawmaker, Riley Moore, with complacency, prior to President Trump’s declaration, and urged the federal government to take urgent steps to engage the US government with facts and figures on the activities of terrorists organisations which, he noted, were blind to faith.
“I have alerted the government, I even moved a motion. Nigeria is a sovereign state, it isn’t about what the United States can do to us, but about the misconception and the ripple effects of classifying us as a country of concern.
“We should engage the American government by presenting facts and figures. By engaging the US government, we should demand that they hear the other side of the story from the Nigerian government and the Muslim community. Muslims have been killed too. The genocide isn’t against Christians but Nigerians generally,” he said.
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