THE
feud between the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and State
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, took a different dimension on Thursday
when Mbu described the governor as a tyrant and a dictator.
Mbu,
who spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt, also dared anyone to embark on a
protest in the state without seeking police permission.
He
maintained that the state governor was unhappy with him because he (Mbu)
refused to be subservient to him.
The
police commissioner, who was reacting to the alarm raised by the state governor
on the rising crime wave in Rivers State, explained that though he had always
respected Amaechi, it was necessary for the governor to reciprocate his (Mbu)
gesture.
Amaechi
had on Tuesday lamented the increasing rate of kidnapping and armed robbery and
expressed reservation over Mbu’s commitment to tackle the situation.
But the
commissioner of police disagreed with the governor, insisting that contrary to
Amaechi’s view, security situation in the state had improved.
He
said, “The office of the governor is a respected office.
“Sometimes,
silence is golden but sometimes it is misconstrued. I have respect for Governor
Amaechi but his attacks on me are going beyond bounds.
“Our
governor is very tyrannical, he is a dictator. He wants everybody to say ‘yes
sir’ to him and I said I will not say so. I am a professional.
“The
governor should please stop playing politics with my name. I will tell the
whole world why the governor is against me in the next interview. I will also
tell you the crime rate before I came to Rivers and what the situation is now.”
On the
claim by Amaechi that he (Mbu) was always reporting the deliberations of the
State Security Council meeting to Abuja, Mbu explained that the Inspector
General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, had insisted that minutes of such meeting
be sent to him.
Mbu
said the state had never held any formal security meeting, adding that letters
were supposed to be sent to the Nigerian Navy and other security outfits
through the Special Adviser on Security.
He
said, “There has never been any formal letter written to convene security
meeting since I came.”
Source: Punch
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