I never promised to return abandoned properties to the Igbo – Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State has denied reports that he promised to return to the Igbo, their properties abandoned after the civil war, if the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, was elected on Saturday.

Amaechi in a statement on Tuesday, accused Nyesom Wike, governor of the state of spreading the false news.

He explained that he only restated his commitment to apologize to the Igbo over the incident, but never said he would return the properties.

“We have observed as unscrupulous and ill-advised, elements have twisted and misrepresented the speech made by Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi during his stakeholders meeting with Igbos in Rivers State last week,” the statement said.

“We are astonished that even the respected Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers fell for the false story and fake news being propagated by the Rivers State Governor without making any effort to clarify what Amaechi actually said.

“Yet, they went ahead to address the media, castigating and condemning the immediate past Rivers State Governor on the basis of a fake, ill-conceived story obviously concocted by the current failed Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

“We would ordinarily not respond to these kind of comments deliberately twisted by the rarely sober Governor Wike and his agents of wickedness and mischief, who Rivers people and Nigerians know trade in divisive fake news, to malign the person and character of Amaechi.

Reproducing what he said for the record, the statement stated: “That Amaechi did not and have never said anything about compensation on abandoned properties to the Igbo in Rivers State. That he only rehashed his apology to the Igbo, when he became governor of Rivers State, that he was sorry on behalf of the state on abandoned properties from the Nigerian civil war.

“That if he had been in power at that time, he would never have let that happen. All of us who are here know that when I became Governor, the first thing I said to the Igbo was ‘I am sorry, I am sorry on abandoned property. I said, if I were governor when they were doing abandoned property, I would not accept. So, in my speech to the Igbo (as governor), I said I am sorry on behalf of Rivers State.

“That Amaechi only mentioned compensation when he spoke about people who are being intimidated, harassed and threatened with violence due to their choice of voting and support for the APC in the upcoming governorship and State Assembly election.

“We need you to come out, we need you to stand, we need you not to be harassed. If they burn any of your houses or they burn any of your shop, write your name. We will replace everything they burned, everything you lost. Rivers State government will not start if we win, without paying you back.”