Former Deputy Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon. Prince Chibudom Nwuche has
called on politicians in Rivers State to eschew the
negative culture of bitterness, blackmail and chicanery in
their desperate bid to witch-hunt and to stop Rivers sons
and daughters from being elevated to higher national
duties.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the former
presiding officer in the National Assembly lamented the
recurring situation where deserving Rivers sons and
daughters are often willfully blackmailed and maligned by
unscrupulous politicians in the State in a bid to prevent
their elevation at the federal level, and consequently lose
the state’s slots for important national appointments to
other states in the South-south region.
Hon. Nwuche revealed that he has been a victim of this
odious practice by some misguided persons, including a
former Governor of Rivers State, on account of his
principles, forthrightness and outspokenness, and regretted
that Rivers State had, as a result of this unwholesome
practice, lost many important positions to other states like
Bayelsa State.
He urged the authorities and Nigerians to discountenance
and remain wary of the ongoing smear campaign against
former Governor Rotimi Amaechi by the Rivers State
government, advising that it is designed to deny him (and
invariably the state) deserved elevation at the federal
level.
He further observed that it is anomalous and ungodly for
the authorities to use Rivers State resources, which
should be deployed to the much needed development of the
state as well as for improving the lot of the common
Rivers man, to pull down Rivers men and women. He
urged all well-meaning Rivers men and women to speak
out against the state sponsored witch-hunt in other to
preserve their state’s resources and their leaders’ dignity.
The former lawmaker noted that it is normal during
electioneering campaigns for contestants to loosely ask
their opponents in government to account for monies
accruable to the state,and generally make outlandish
statements in their bid to win votes for their parties and
candidates,but that different rules applied after
electioneering and the commencement of
governance.Politicians are expected to be more
circumspect and weigh their actions and utterances more
carefully,and consider the best interest of their states and
constituents.
“It is very wrong for you when you have now taken
over governance to pre-judge and publicly pronounce
someone guilty of embezzling state funds, and thereafter
constitute a judicial panel to investigate the alleged
crime”.
“The same authority that has publicly adjudged someone
guilty of a crime even before investigating the crime,
cannot go ahead and appoint a judicial panel to
investigate the said crime and expect such accused
persons to appear before the panel with the hope of getting
a fair hearing”, he noted.
Hon. Nwuche insisted that those in authority if they
really intended to set up a fair judicial panel,ought to
have eschewed public comments tending to indict those
they wanted to appear before such panel,to ensure fair
hearing.Pointing out that the judicial panel’s constitution
at this time is ill-motivated and appears to have been
designed to achieve pre-determined ends.
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