Former Rivers State Governor and Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has hailed former Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in Rivers State, Late Chief GU AKE as a peace loving man who contributed immensely to human capital development.
Amaechi stated this at Erema, Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni Local Government Area of the state, during the burial ceremony of the Late Chief Godspower Umejuru Ake, on Friday. The late Chief Ake was an ally of the Transportation Minister. He was also a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly in the first Republic.
Amaechi who also acknowledged the role played by the Late Chief G.U Ake in his guber ambition explained that many whom the elder statesman assisted in life turned against him before his death.
“Chief was a very peace loving man and a peaceful man; the way he walks and the way he talks you will know that he never liked violence. A lot of us seated here today have benefited from chief in one way or the other. Starting from Chief Rufus Ada George and Dr. Peter Odili, my former boss. After God, Chief contributed in making Dr. Peter Odili deputy governor and contributed to also making him governor. So chief helped to make governors after God”.
“After Dr. Peter Odili became governor, Chief helped to make me governor. I will tell you one lesson I learnt from chief. He said people will continue to betray you so let it not worry you. A lot of people that were chief’s friends betrayed him. Chief taught me that where there is no God there will be no peace. I thought Chief would die when Felix Obuah “Go-round” betrayed him. If you all remember “Go round” was shot in his privates, the first man that rushed to me was Chief G.U Ake, he gave me an ultimatum that I must fly him (Go- round) out to South Africa for treatment and I brought the money, he was flown abroad and was treated, but today “Go round” has betrayed Chief.”
“We must look at what has happened to our own leader, our own father. A child in Omoku (Chief’s home town) went to court and lied against Chief, and removed him because they had power of the Presidency. I know chief very well and was close to him, chief was a good adviser, he was not greedy, and he died a Rivers man. All those he helped are not here. I owe him nothing than this respect and to continue to be a member of his family,” Amaechi said.
Recalling his victory as the then Governor of Rivers State, Amaechi said his victory was through a divine mandate and not by shedding of human blood, adding that one of his greatest successes recorded as governor was that Rivers State did not experience killings and human massacre as it is currently prevalent under the present administration.
He said, “See Onelga, the beauty of the country. See how bad the road is. See Omoku, a desert. People are being killed and slaughtered everyday, and there is a government in place.”
“One thing I am proud of is that as a governor, both my enemies and opponents stayed alive. They have killed so many of Chief’s supporters and are still killing chief’s supporters. All you people owe chief is to chase out all these people in 2019,” he said.
