JONATHAN TOOK RIVERS OIL WELLS TO BAYELSA BECAUSE HE IS PRESIDENT - AMAECHI

Rivers State Governor has stated that he left the Peoples Democratic
Party in order to protect the economic interest of the people of
Rivers State. He said President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP
government were victimizing and frustrating his efforts in the state.
The Governor spoke at an interactive session with doctors in Port
Harcourt on Thursday.
Amaechi said one of such harassments was the ceding of Soku oil wells
to Bayelsa, a move he contested in court.
He said, "Legally, we have not lost Soku (oil wells). We have just
lost Soku to the fact that the president is from Bayelsa. When a
president that is not from Bayelsa comes, he will look at the facts
and the facts are there."
He added, "So, for Rivers State, basically, that is the cause of the
quarrel and you have a choice to make. The choice for me, if you ask
me to advise you, is to vote out PDP and there is no sentiment about
that."
"The Federal Government, in writing in the court, said to the court:
'sorry, court, we made a mistake; we will correct the mistake' and we
have told the Federal Government: 'don't call us for a meeting; go and
correct that mistake. How could you people wake up in 2011… suddenly
changed the map of Nigeria and take Soku into Bayelsa State?"
He also cited the Bonny link road as one of the many abandoned Federal
projects in the state due to his perceived quarrel with President
Jonathan.
He said: "That road to Bonny was awarded by former President Olusegun
Obasanjo. They started; they have done just one bridge. The road has
been abandoned. Yar'Adua tried to restart it, but he stopped.
"President Goodluck Jonathan has forgotten about that road completely,
despite the fact that part of the money that feeds the Nigerian
economy comes from that place, Bonny. That's where you have the
natural gas plant."
Buttressing his point on the World Bank loan to provide Rivers State
people with potable water a loan being delayed by the Ministr of
Finance, Okonjo Iweala.
Amaechi said: "I will start from water. We got African Development
Bank (ADB) and World Bank to give us a loan, for which we will pay 0.4
per cent for 40 years, which is a wonderful loan and we planned to
give Port Harcourt people water first.
"If everybody in Rivers State is drinking (potable) water that will
reduce the number of patients that go to Braithwaite Memorial Hospital
or any other hospital. World Bank agreed; Federal Government agreed;
ADB agreed. They said, 'go and do due process'. We have finished due
process. What is remaining is for the Minister of Finance to just sign
off.
"In fact, you know, like I tell people, I have no appetite for money,
they can award the contract to whoever they want; all I want is water,
because that will impact on other sectors of the Rivers State economy.
'Oh, you are quarrelling with the President, we will not sign'; that
is why they have not signed.
"Should the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that schooled
in the University of Port Harcourt, worked at OMPADEC, Ministry of
Education, University of Education or College of Education (COE) sit
down there and deny Rivers people water?"
He said: "It is not about Ijaw. It is not about Southsouth, because
the first question I will ask myself is 'what have I benefitted in the
government of President Goodluck Jonathan? We gave him between 1.5
million to 2.1 million votes. What have we got? What has the Federal
Government done for Rivers people?"