Wike vs Amaechi: Tale of the Cat and the Mouse
Bed bugs sting not from spite but because they desire to live. Could
it be the same with Nyesom Wike, incumbent Governor of Rivers State?
Is Wike's aggressive political onslaught against his predecessor,
estranged friend and benefactor, Rotimi Amaechi, borne out of a
curious desire to inflict hurt and neuter him or a towering passion to
serve the state? OLATUNJI OLOLADE, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, examines the
genesis of the rift between the former friends and political allies.
NYESOM WIKE flares high and low like a wicker lamp. The incumbent
governor of Rivers State flaunts a temperament that combusts like
flame of the rattan work caught in a rainsquall. Critics of his
government would liken his controversial victory at the recently
concluded gubernatorial elections to the gale that fans the fiery
embers of his temperament. And the reason is hardly farfetched: in the
wake of his victory at the state's governorship elections, an ecstatic
Wike promised not to witch-hunt Rotimi Amaechi, his predecessor and
former governor of the state when he assumes office on May 29.
Speaking during a special victory service in Port Harcourt, the state
capital, Wike stated that rather than witch-hunt his opponents in the
election, he would extend hands of fellowship to them in order to move
the state forward. Few weeks after he made his pledge, Governor Wike
is embroiled in a fierce plot to neuter and impugn the government and
reputation of Amaechi. Recently, Wike instituted a plot to probe his
predecessor just after he accused him of looting and vandalising
properties in the Government House. Wike took reporters around the
Government House to point out items that were allegedly looted from
the edifice, including furniture, bullet proof doors, carpets, cars,
curtains and windows.
In response, Amaechi laughed off the plot, claiming that the current
governor is trying to intimidate officials that served with him in his
administration, including civil servants, by deploying threats and
blackmail to force them into making and substantiating false claims of
alleged corruption and corrupt practices against him and his wife,
Judith. Between his hasty pledge not to witch-hunt his predecessor and
his radical orbiting in stance and temperament, Governor Wike cuts an
interesting portrait which at first glance, elicits wanton
speculations and apologies about his capacity for fairness or malice.
While the jury is out on his capacity for fairness, Wike's mounting
offensive against his predecessor bears the telltale of contained
animosity and spite. But how did the duo cross the threshold of
unflinching loyalty and friendship to the Rubicon of spite and
dishonour? Their unfolding spat has been severally attributed to a
clash of wills and political interests. It would be recalled that both
Governor Wike and former Governor Amaechi had been political allies
since 1998. Amaechi and Wike became political allies under Dr. Peter
Odili's administration when Wike served as Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA,
while the former got elected into the state House of Assembly and
eventually emerged Speaker of the House, a position he held for eight
years. Trouble loomed in 2007 when Amaechi threw his hat into the ring
to contest the state's governorship elections. He did so against
former President Olusegun Obasanjo's preferred candidate, Celestine
Omehia at the Peoples Democratice Party (PDP) primaries. Amaechi
defeated Omehia to clinch the party's ticket, to the embarrassment of
Obasanjo who had sought to install him (Omehia) as the state governor.
But Obasanjo tacitly went to work and by a radical twist of fate,
Omehia eventually flew the party's banner at the election. Had the
former president remained in power, the travesty of justice and due
process might have been upheld but he vacated office for Late
President Umar Yar'Adua under whose leadership Amaechi took his case
to court. One thing led to another and the PDP machinery turned the
heat on Amaechi; when the heat became too cutthroat and intense for
him, he fled to Ghana for refuge. Enter Nyesom Wike. The latter, who
is a lawyer by training, stepped in at this juncture and championed
his friend and ally, Amaechi's interest risking everything to ensure
that the absconded gubernatorial candidate did not only return from
Ghana safely but also became victorious at the court.
The legal battle raged on for months and eventually, the court
pronounced Amaechi the legitimate candidate for the elections, which
he won convincingly on the platform of the PDP. For his loyalty and
dogged fight in defence of Amaechi, even in the face of alleged
assassination attempts, Wike and the new governor-elect allegedly
struck a deal that would be validated and consummated in 2015. The
deal was hardly about replacing Amaechi in the Rivers State Government
House after 2015 but being backed to rub shoulders with other levels
of elected officials at the Three Arms Zone in Abuja. In the main
time, the governor settled down for governance and appointed Wike
Chief of Staff. Their relationship blossomed through several rifts and
intrigues that involved horse trading of positions in the state,
accusations of betrayal and counter-accusations. Through the storm,
the duo never faltered in alliance, it seemed. In fact, when Wike
emerged as the Minister of State for Education under the immediate
past regime, Amaechi said he nominated him although Wike refuted the
claim.
it be the same with Nyesom Wike, incumbent Governor of Rivers State?
Is Wike's aggressive political onslaught against his predecessor,
estranged friend and benefactor, Rotimi Amaechi, borne out of a
curious desire to inflict hurt and neuter him or a towering passion to
serve the state? OLATUNJI OLOLADE, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, examines the
genesis of the rift between the former friends and political allies.
NYESOM WIKE flares high and low like a wicker lamp. The incumbent
governor of Rivers State flaunts a temperament that combusts like
flame of the rattan work caught in a rainsquall. Critics of his
government would liken his controversial victory at the recently
concluded gubernatorial elections to the gale that fans the fiery
embers of his temperament. And the reason is hardly farfetched: in the
wake of his victory at the state's governorship elections, an ecstatic
Wike promised not to witch-hunt Rotimi Amaechi, his predecessor and
former governor of the state when he assumes office on May 29.
Speaking during a special victory service in Port Harcourt, the state
capital, Wike stated that rather than witch-hunt his opponents in the
election, he would extend hands of fellowship to them in order to move
the state forward. Few weeks after he made his pledge, Governor Wike
is embroiled in a fierce plot to neuter and impugn the government and
reputation of Amaechi. Recently, Wike instituted a plot to probe his
predecessor just after he accused him of looting and vandalising
properties in the Government House. Wike took reporters around the
Government House to point out items that were allegedly looted from
the edifice, including furniture, bullet proof doors, carpets, cars,
curtains and windows.
In response, Amaechi laughed off the plot, claiming that the current
governor is trying to intimidate officials that served with him in his
administration, including civil servants, by deploying threats and
blackmail to force them into making and substantiating false claims of
alleged corruption and corrupt practices against him and his wife,
Judith. Between his hasty pledge not to witch-hunt his predecessor and
his radical orbiting in stance and temperament, Governor Wike cuts an
interesting portrait which at first glance, elicits wanton
speculations and apologies about his capacity for fairness or malice.
While the jury is out on his capacity for fairness, Wike's mounting
offensive against his predecessor bears the telltale of contained
animosity and spite. But how did the duo cross the threshold of
unflinching loyalty and friendship to the Rubicon of spite and
dishonour? Their unfolding spat has been severally attributed to a
clash of wills and political interests. It would be recalled that both
Governor Wike and former Governor Amaechi had been political allies
since 1998. Amaechi and Wike became political allies under Dr. Peter
Odili's administration when Wike served as Chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA,
while the former got elected into the state House of Assembly and
eventually emerged Speaker of the House, a position he held for eight
years. Trouble loomed in 2007 when Amaechi threw his hat into the ring
to contest the state's governorship elections. He did so against
former President Olusegun Obasanjo's preferred candidate, Celestine
Omehia at the Peoples Democratice Party (PDP) primaries. Amaechi
defeated Omehia to clinch the party's ticket, to the embarrassment of
Obasanjo who had sought to install him (Omehia) as the state governor.
But Obasanjo tacitly went to work and by a radical twist of fate,
Omehia eventually flew the party's banner at the election. Had the
former president remained in power, the travesty of justice and due
process might have been upheld but he vacated office for Late
President Umar Yar'Adua under whose leadership Amaechi took his case
to court. One thing led to another and the PDP machinery turned the
heat on Amaechi; when the heat became too cutthroat and intense for
him, he fled to Ghana for refuge. Enter Nyesom Wike. The latter, who
is a lawyer by training, stepped in at this juncture and championed
his friend and ally, Amaechi's interest risking everything to ensure
that the absconded gubernatorial candidate did not only return from
Ghana safely but also became victorious at the court.
The legal battle raged on for months and eventually, the court
pronounced Amaechi the legitimate candidate for the elections, which
he won convincingly on the platform of the PDP. For his loyalty and
dogged fight in defence of Amaechi, even in the face of alleged
assassination attempts, Wike and the new governor-elect allegedly
struck a deal that would be validated and consummated in 2015. The
deal was hardly about replacing Amaechi in the Rivers State Government
House after 2015 but being backed to rub shoulders with other levels
of elected officials at the Three Arms Zone in Abuja. In the main
time, the governor settled down for governance and appointed Wike
Chief of Staff. Their relationship blossomed through several rifts and
intrigues that involved horse trading of positions in the state,
accusations of betrayal and counter-accusations. Through the storm,
the duo never faltered in alliance, it seemed. In fact, when Wike
emerged as the Minister of State for Education under the immediate
past regime, Amaechi said he nominated him although Wike refuted the
claim.
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