allAfrica.com                                                                               *


Gov Amaechi Blames Kalabaris for Militancy in Rivers


Daily Trust (Abuja)


NEWS
31 December 2007
Posted to the web 2 January 2008

By Henry Omunu
Port-Harcourt

Rivers State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has blamed the inordinate quest
for political power and chieftaincy positions within the Kalabari axis of the
state for the reign of terror, militancy and kidnapping in the state.

The governor made the indictment while addressing Kalabari chiefs on the
emergency security situation in the area at Buguma in Asari Toru local
government area at the weekend.



Amaechi said he was in the state study the problem of cultism and revealed that
the problem started from the Kalabari Kingdom, the Okrikans, and the Andonis.

"I fought the battle not to allow cultism to extend to Ikwerre area when I was
speaker and I thought that your children who occupied government positions
should have fought the same battle. And now those people you were training to
achieve political and chieftaincy gains are now consuming you.

"You are the problem. I have identified the problem. First, you arm the youths,
you tolerated them and you are proud to say our children are militants; our
boys are freedom fighters. Whose freedom are they fighting for?" Amaechi
declared.

He said the militants have misconstrued the Niger Delta struggle for selfish
interests and warned that his government will not allow criminality to distract
the genuine interventions of government to develop the rural areas.

The governor appealed to the Kalabaris to take steps to get the young men out
of the creeks and surrender their weapons to receive amnesty.

He said that they stand the risk of being attacked by security agencies if they
don't surrender.

He said government was responsible for developing the communities and providing
suitable environment for companies and for employment to be generated.

According to him, the government needs to be encouraged to carry out projects
earmarked for the area.

He said that the governm-ent has released N2.5 billion for electrification
project in the state and appealed for the people to allow the resumption of
work on sub-stations and string lines in the Kalabari axis.

Amaechi said that the contractors, handling the project, were scared of the
possible kidnap of the expatriates.

The governor pointed out that cases of the kidnapping were rampant in the area
because prominent indigenes of the area were not interested in the development
of their area.

He accused them of only being interested in bunkering, cultism and militant
activities.

Earlier, the Amanyanabo of Kalabari, King Theophilous Princewill, commended the
governor for finding time to visit the area and appealed to him to tackle the
problem of criminal elements in the Kalabari Kingdom.

He commended the state government for its efforts in securing the release of
the head of the state's electoral commission, Prof Nimi Briggs.


  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Copyright © 2007 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
                         Global Media (allAfrica.com).
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------