Wike twisted my remark on Igbos’ abandoned property in Rivers – Amaechi

Former Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechihas refuted allegations that he promised to return properties left to Igbos in Rivers State if the All Progressives Congress (APC) wins Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Tony Cole he is the APC governorship candidate in Kali.

Mr. Ameachi said his remarks at a meeting with leaders of the Igbo community in the state were “deliberately dismissed by Governor Nyesom Wike” who he said was known for peddling “divisive fake news.”

The Sun newspaper on Monday reported how the Rivers State Government harassed Mr. Ameachi, accusing him of “trying to stir up enmity between the Igbos and the people of the country over the issue of legally expropriated non-indigenous properties left behind.”

According to the newspaper, Mr. Amaechi, in a meeting with the Igbos in the state last week, promised that the state will return the properties declared by the military government immediately after the Nigerian Civil War if Mr. Cole is elected governor.

Mr. Amaechi, a former governor of the state, is the leader of the APC in Rivers state.

He is said to have made a “promise” when asking for votes for Mr Cole ahead of Saturday’s poll.

But the former minister’s media office in a statement on Tuesday described the story as “false”. He said it was “to destroy the person and the character,” of the former minister.

“We have observed that unscrupulous and unscrupulous elements have perverted and misrepresented the speech made by Mr. Amaechi during the stakeholders meeting with the Igbos in Rivers State last week.

“We are astonished that even the respected Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers fell to fake stories and fake news propagated by the Rivers State Governor without any effort to explain what Mr. Amaechi said; but they continue to address the media, castigating and condemning the immediate past Rivers State Governor on the basis of false, ill-prepared stories obviously concocted by the current failed Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike,” the statement said.

Mr. Amaechi’s media office said the former minister only apologized to the Igbos when he was governor that he was apologizing on behalf of the country for the property he left behind during Nigeria’s civil war.

“All of us who are here know that when I became Governor, the first thing I said to the Igbos was ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry about the abandoned property. I said, if I was the governor when he did the abandoned property, I will not accept it. So in my speech to the Igbos (as governor), I thank you on behalf of Rivers State.

The former minister said he only mentioned: “compensation when talking about those who were intimidated, harassed and threatened with violence for choosing to vote and support the APC in the upcoming governorship and State Assembly elections”.

Mr. Amaechi said: “We must come out, we must stand up, and we must not be disturbed. If they burn your house or shop, write your name and give it to them…. We will replace everything that was burned, everything that was lost. Rivers Government State will not start if we win, without paying back,” he said.

Chris Finebone, the commissioner for information in the country, when contacted, referred PREMIUM TIMES to a publication in Punch newspaper where the statement was also made by Mr. Amaechi. published.

According to the Sun newspaper, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the country, Zacchaeus Adangor, told reporters at the end of the State Executive Council (SEC) that the problem of property left in the country, “the essence and can be felt. of the law.”

“You will recall that the Abandoned Property Amendment No.8 of 1969 established the Abandoned Property Custody and Management Authority and charged it with the authority and responsibility to manage non-indigenous property left unattended during the civil war.

“The constitutionality of the law has been tested in several court decisions, including the Supreme Court and the law is still an existing law, and has never been overturned by any court,” Mr. Adangor, senior. A Nigerian advocate, was quoted as saying.

The newspaper said the SEC meeting was chaired by Mr. Wike but did not say when it was held.