Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his predecessor, Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday, reportedly took on each other at the burial of a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, in the Abonnema, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of the state.
During his speech at the funeral service, Amaechi, who is the Minister of Transportation, lamented what he described as the rising insecurity and political intimidation in the state.
He expressed regret that the state had returned to an era when a former militant leader, Ateke Tom, who is now the traditional head of Okochiri town in Okrika LGA, held sway in the state.
Amaechi said, “You have lost your voice. The sage (the late justice) has gone under and nobody is speaking. When I was governor, I gave people voices, but they have blocked those voices.
“Everyone is scared. We are going back to when Ateke held sway. We are going back to the period where we run away from our people. We are back to a period when nobody could speak. But from next year, I will begin to speak, if nobody wants to speak.
“We are all here because we need to bury a man God has blessed. I have stopped travelling because of bad weather, but I told myself I must be here because of Justice Whyte.
“If you knew Justice (Karibi-Whyte) very well, you will know I was close to him. I was one of the few people he mentored.”
On his part, Wike described the late Karibi-Whyte as an epitome of unshakable integrity, civility and dignity, but he frowned on the comments credited to Amaechi, saying they were embarrassing.
Responding to Amaechi, Wike who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Chief Emeka Woke, said the minister had lost touch with developments in the state, adding that since the launching of Operation Sting by his administration, the security situation had improved greatly.
Wike said, “It is unfortunate for Amaechi to come to Kalabari land and accuse former President Goodluck Jonathan of not developing the area six years after he had left office.
“I wonder why the former governor will choose to make such embarrassing remarks at the funeral of late Justice Karibi-Whyte, a man he (Amaechi) claimed to be his mentor.”