Tag: Amaechi

Amaechi Calls For Regulation Of Nigeria’s Social Media Space

 

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has called for the regulation of Nigeria’s social media space in order to curb the spread of fake news.

In an exclusive interview with Channels Television on Monday, Mr Amaechi explained that the rumoured attack on him at the Rigasa train station in Kaduna, only shows that there are people who deliberately want to bring down the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“This so-called social media, the earlier they start regulating it, the better.

“We either start regulating this or there are people who deliberately want to bring down the government, and I don’t know what they want to achieve by that, is it that the government can’t protect its own minister?” he asked.

READ ALSO: My Convoy Was Never Attacked By Bandits In Kaduna, Says Amaechi

Mr Amaechi explained that there was no incident of shooting or kidnapping of him or anyone at the train station.

“Most of these stories we hear are not true, they had earlier on said there was an attack on passengers on the same Rigasa, I had to tell NRC to make a rejoinder because there was none.”

My Convoy Was Never Attacked By Bandits In Kaduna, Says Amaechi

 

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has debunked news making the rounds that his convoy was attacked by bandits at the Rigasa train station in Kaduna state on Sunday. 

In an exclusive interview with Channels Television, Mr Amaechi narrated the incidence and described the story as ‘totally false and misleading’.

According to him, there was never a time his convoy was attacked immediately he disembarked from the Abuja – Kaduna bound train.

He noted that the false story has further lent credence for the need by the Federal Government to pass the social media law in order to checkmate fake news.

“This so-called social media, the earlier they start regulating it, the better.

“I left the train, walked into the car alone, my security just joined me and then there was government house security, they conveyed me straight to the hotel; I slept for some few minutes, went to a party and left the party at 12 midnight.

“It was after I left the party I saw calls from my wife and it was frantic and I was wondering why my wife will call me for over 15 to 20 times, then I called back to say what is going on, that’s when she said thank God, that they said they attempted to kidnap me and that there was a shootout.

“We either start regulating this (social media), or there are people who deliberately want to bring down the government, and I don’t know what they want to achieve by that, is it that the government can’t protect its own minister?” he asked.

READ ALSO: Planned Protest Against Service Chiefs Aimed At Embarrassing Buhari – Presidency

Mr Amaechi stressed that it is not the duty of the Ministry of Transport to provide security for passengers and their responsibilities end from the point passengers leave the train station.

“I don’t know whether the policemen came for me or they were there to protect, but I will find out if they came to protect passengers.

“The job of the ministry of transport stops as you disembark the train. I’m not the IG of police or the Governor of Kaduna state, but our responsibility stops once you leave the station; up to the station, we had policemen.

“As at yesterday, there was nothing wrong; no shooting or kidnapping,” he restated.

Nigerians ‘Attack’ Rotimi Amaechi In Spain

Amaechi Describes Claim Of Appointing Governorship Candidate As Mischievous

 

Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi has said that he was attacked by some Nigerians in Spain. 

The minister revealed this via a statement on his Twitter page.

In his tweet, Mr. Amaechi said, “Some minutes ago, I was attacked by a few misguided Nigerians while on national assignment at a climate change event in Madrid, Spain”.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: IPOB Members Attack Ekweremadu In Germany

According to his tweet, the assailants were quickly repelled by the Spanish police before they could do any harm.

He noted that he is doing fine, adding that he was not hurt.

Buhari, Amaechi And The Ministers Who Retained Their Portfolios

 

President Muhammadu Buhari, and a couple others on Wednesday retained their portfolios as ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

The President retained his position as minister for petroleum, while Alhaji Lai Mohammed retained his portfolio minister of information and culture.

Others who retained their position in President Buhari’s cabinet include:

READ ALSO: Buhari Assigns Portfolios To Ministers (FULL LIST)

Adamu Adamu (Education)

Geoffrey Onyeama (Foreign Affairs)

Hadi Sirika (Aviation)

Abubakar Malami (Justice)

Lai Mohammed (Information)

Rotimi Amaechi (Transport)

Ogbonnaya Onu (Science and Technology).

*Mr Babatunde Fashola can however be said to have partially retained his ministry, as his portfolio was split into two. The former Lagos state governor who previously was head of Works, Power and Housing, now only mans the ministry of Works and Housing.

Declare Nyesom Wike Duly Re-Elected, Rivers Women Charge INEC

 

 

Rivers Women from the 23 Local Government Areas of the state have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) to conclude the Collation Process for the Governorship election and declare Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike duly re-elected.

They also demanded that the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Rivers State, Obo Effanga be allowed to conclude the Collation Process, since he conducted the 2019 General Elections.

The Rivers Women were mostly dressed in White to signify peace and their commitment to the peaceful conclusion of the 2019 General Elections.

They embarked on a peaceful March to the State Headquarters of the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) warned the Nigerian Army to stop forthwith the Intimidation of the Rivers people.

The women who were in their thousands held placards with the following inscriptions: “Amaechi you cannot be Governor for a third term “, “Nigerian Army should stop intimidating Rivers people”, “Leave Rivers REC Alone” and “INEC must conclude Collation of Rivers Governorship Election results “.

READ ALSO: Court Upholds Fayemi’s Election, Dismisses PDP’s Appeal

They stated that they overwhelmingly voted for Governor Wike across the state and in most cases they stayed at the Collation Centres to defend their votes, despite the threats by some security personnel and hoodlums.

Leader of Rivers Women, Mrs Ukel Oyaghiri said that the process of Collation and Declaration of Results must be concluded as unnecessary delay is no longer appreciated.

“We want our results to be declared . We don’t want further delays . The state is at a standstill because of the non release of our results. This delay is becoming dangerous.

“The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obo Effanga should be allowed to conclude the Collation process. He was the one who conducted the elections. This is a process that should be concluded by him,” Oyaghiri said.

She urged the police to stand with the people by joining them to defend the votes of Rivers people. She said said that the votes of Rivers people must count and there should be no further delay.

A Rivers Women Leader, Chinyeru Agbaru also noted that all results in the custody of INEC should be collated and declared.

She stated that there is no reason for the Resident Electoral Commissioner to be redeployed as being canvassed by the APC in Rivers State.

Also speaking, Women Leader of Rivers PDP, Mrs Victoria Allison appreciated the police for their interventions while the governorship election and collation got underway on March 10.

She said that Rivers Women were dressed in white to show that they support the peaceful conclusion of the 2019 General Election adding that Rivers State successfully held the Governorship election and the votes of the people must count.

A Female Youth Leader, Soibi Ibibo Jack said that Governor Wike has won the election and should be declared winner by INEC.

She warned the police against disrupting the Governorship Collation exercise as currently being rumoured. Jack said that the police are under obligation to be neutral.

Jack said that those calling for this transfer of the Resident Electoral Commissioner are doing so because he refused to be compromised. She said he should be allowed to complete the Collation.

Responding on behalf of the Rivers State Police Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Betty Otimeye said the message of Rivers women will be passed to the appropriate authorities for action to be taken.

At the DSS Headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers women said that they demand rests on the declaration of all collated results within scheduled period.

INEC Suspends Electoral Process In Rivers

Rivers APC Crisis: We Are Only Demanding A Right To Compete, Says Party  

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the suspension of all electoral processes in Rivers State.

In a statement by the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman,
Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, INEC explained that it took the decision following reports of disruption of Saturday’s elections in the state.

“Based on reports from our officials in the field, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has determined that there has been widespread disruption of elections conducted on the 9th day of March 2019 in Rivers State,” he stated.

READ ALSO: Police, Army Clash At Rivers INEC Office

He added, “These initial reports suggest that violence occurred in a substantial number of polling units and collation centres. Staff have been taken hostage and materials including results sheets have either been seized or destroyed by unauthorized persons.

While expressing concern over the safety of INEC staff which, according to him, “appears to be in jeopardy all over the state”, the commission said the credibility of the process has been called to question.

“Consequently, at a meeting held today 10th March 2019, the Commission has decided to suspend all electoral processes in the state until further notice. This is in line with Section 26 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and Clause 47 (e) of the Regulation and Guidelines of the commission.”

He added that INEC has “established a Fact-finding Committee to assess the situation and report back within 48 hours.”

The electoral umpire appealed to the people of Rivers State, particularly the voters to be patient as the commission investigates the circumstances behind the disruptions and the next action that needs to be taken.

 

War Song: PDP Asks ICC To List Amaechi For ‘Inciting Violence’

 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately list the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, for inciting violence with war songs at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on Tuesday.

The PDP in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, noted that the threat of violence by Rotimi Amaechi which came few days after President Muhammadu Buhari called on his supporters to get ready to fight; as well as the alleged ‘body bag’ threat by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state, have all exposed APC’s plot against peaceful elections in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: ‘I’ve Been Betrayed Serially’: Amaechi Vows To Battle Wike To The Last

“It is completely reprehensible that Amaechi, who had the privilege of governing Rivers state for eight years, will resort to importation of thugs into the state and inciting violence, just because the people have rejected President Buhari and his party has no candidate in the state for the general elections.

“Nigerians understand Amaechi’s frustration as a salesman of a failed product, which he also attested to in his leaked audio recording, but seeking to vent this frustration on the peace-loving people of Rivers state is totally unacceptable,” Ologbondiyan said.

He added, “Amaechi should have understood that Nigerians, across the board, have rejected President Buhari and reached a consensus to elect the people’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as the next President of our country. He should know that no form of intimidation, enticement or blackmail can change that reality.”

The PDP spokesman asked Nigerians to hold Amaechi and the APC responsible should there be any breakdown of law and order in River State or any other part of our country, before, during and after the elections.

Amaechi, Amosun, Others Test-Run Section Of Lagos-Ibadan Rail Project

 

A test-run of the completed section of the 156km Lagos-Ibadan rail modernisation project was carried out on Friday, February 8. 

On the ride for the inspection were the Minister of transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state, Senator Ashafa, traditional rulers and other government functionaries as well as the management staff of the Nigerian railway corporation.

The Managing Director of the rail corporation Eng. Fidelis Okhiria was very upbeat about the achievement.

Okhiria said the people can now travel for free from Iju, Lagos to Abeokuta for about a month, using the newly-completed trains by the Federal Government.

He said non-commercial operations will begin next week, between Iju and Abeokuta.

According to Mr Okhiria, the train will run the route 4times a day, he added that by the end of May, the Lagos-Ibadan tracks will be completed.

READ ALSO: Roads Won’t Be Closed For Buhari’s Visit, Says Lagos Govt

2019: Buhari Appoints Amaechi As Director-General Of Campaign Organisation

Rotimi Amaechi

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Rotimi Amaechi, as the Secretary and Director-General of his 2019 re-election campaign organisation.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Amaechi was the DG of the Buhari-Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Committee in 2014-2015 that won the elections and brought the current administration into office.

Mr Shehu noted that the new Director-General will announce other appointments into the campaign structure as approved by President Buhari.

Amaechi Describes Claim Of Appointing Governorship Candidate As Mischievous

Amaechi Describes Claim Of Appointing Governorship Candidate As Mischievous

 

The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, on Saturday faulted a claim that he has appointed a governorship candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

In a statement from his media office, the minister described the allegation as mischievous, stressing that it was deceitful for anyone to make such a claim.

Amaechi said it was his constitutionally enshrined democratic right to support any qualified aspirant of his choice as a Nigerian, registered voter and a card-carrying APC member from the state.

He, however, said he would not go against the laws of the land and the APC Constitution while supporting any member of the party in the 2019 general elections.

Amaechi is part of the delegation that accompanied President Muhammadu Buhari to China on Friday for the 7th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Ministers also on the President’s entourage are Geoffrey Onyeama (Foreign Affairs), Babatunde Fashola (Power, Works and Housing), Muhammad Bello (FCT), Okechukwu Enelamah (Industry, Trade and Investment) and Udo Udoma (Budget and National Planning), among others.

Read Amaechi’s statement below;

On official national assignment in China, the attention of the Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has been drawn to several wild, misleading, misguided and deliberately distorted stories and claims linking the Minister who is the Leader of the APC in Rivers State and the South-South region, to a purported ‘appointment’ of a Governorship Candidate for the APC in Rivers State for the 2019 gubernatorial election.

To clarify this fallacy, the Minister restates that:

As an individual, a registered voter and a card-carrying APC member from Rivers State, it’s the Honourable Minister’s inalienable, constitutionally enshrined democratic right to back/support/promote any qualified fellow party member of his choice, to aspire to be the candidate of the party in the State in the forthcoming governorship election or any other election.

However, as a true and thorough democrat, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a foundation member of the APC and a leading light of the party, recognizes that the Party candidates for the 2019 general elections will be chosen/elected by party members through the prescribed democratic process in the party’s constitution, rules and regulations.

It is, therefore, preposterous, mischievous; wholly and intentionally disingenuous and deceitful for anyone to claim, allege or even insinuate that the Honourable Minister has “appointed” a governorship candidate for APC in Rivers State.

I Have Nothing Personal Against Amaechi, Says Wike

Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike speaks on his relationship with former governor Rotimi Amaechi while marking his third anniversary in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Wednesday.

 

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has once again opened up on the relationship with his predecessor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi, who also doubles as the Minister for Transportation upon governing the oil-rich state since 2007 to 2015, seems not to be on the same page with Governor Wike.

Wike, who briefed journalists in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on his administration’s strides three years after assuming leadership insists that he has nothing personal against Amaechi.

“I have no personal problem (with Amaechi), it’s just that people want to cause a problem in Rivers State,” he said on Wednesday.

“I won the election in 2015. Of all the manipulation they did, what did they achieve? I don’t have any problem. Somebody said I should settle, what am I settling? Is it a personal thing?”

He, however, criticised some politicians for not allowing the people of the state choose who governs them as their leader.

He added, “You have done your own eight years, let another person finish and go. Must you continue to dictate who is the governor of Rivers State?

“Why are you taking it too personal. Look at what is happening in their party. Somebody cannot have an ambition. If you have an ambition, it becomes a problem. You become disloyal, what kind of system are we in?”

Why Lekki Deep Seaport Is Important To Nigeria’s Economy – Amaechi

 

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has explained the importance of the Lekki Deep Seaport to Nigeria’s economy.

The Minister said that the  Deep Seaport will improve and upgrade the capacity of the Nigerian ports which are already existing in the country.

” Every country that desires a market share in the global maritime space must consider the importance of having a Deep Seaport because they convey enormous benefit to such countries”.

These are the words of Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday at the Commissioning of Lekki Deep Seaport in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to the Minister,  Nigeria is about to get its first Deep Seaport which he believes will not only improve the capacity of the Nigerian Ports but will enable the transfer of skills and technology.

“What the country has had so far are river ports such as Tincan, Apapa, Port Harcourt amongst others, but this will be Nigeria’s first Deep Seaport” he added.

The Lekki Deep Seaport, he said will allow Nigeria to receive and accommodate large crude carriers, ultra-large crude carriers and other categories of large vessels.

Shipping companies across the world now embrace the use of large vessels and Nigeria’s ability to accommodate these vessels will almost guarantee the country’s hub status by the share volume of Nigeria’s inward and outward cargos.

“With the development of modern equipment, the Deep Seaport is projected to improve the capacity of our ports for space utilisation, modern cargo handling methods and new operating procedures.

“The project will also enable the transfer of skills and technology which will be executed by a special purpose vehicle called Lekki Port Free Trade Zone Enterprises Limited,” he said.

The Minister also expressed concern over the nation’s inability to generate outward cargos and hoped that with the deep Seaport things will get better.

The Deep Seaport is situated at the heart of the Lagos Trade Free Zone and is expected to be completed by 2020.