The Rivers State Commissioner of Information, Austin Tam- George in a statement released said the rejection of award by the Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, it's a relief for the government stating the former Governor never did anything commendable to be given an award but fell under the category of past Governors of the state to be awarded.
Rotimi Amaechi was to be awarded during the Rivers State golden jubilee celebration by Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State.
But Amaechi rejected the invitation stating Wike's plan to honour him is a "poisoned chalice"
In a statement released by the Amaechi's media office, it said:
The purported award itself is a contradiction of monumental proportions, a contradiction that can only come from a warped and perverted mind.
“From day one as governor, Wike has made it his sole, one-point agenda to attack, abuse, insult and falsely denigrate Amaechi, his immediate predecessor and erstwhile benefactor.
“Since he became governor, Wike spends most of his time making reckless, deeply irresponsible malicious, false allegations against Amaechi, as he attempts, albeit fruitlessly, to malign and destroy the outstandingly superb performance and legacy of Amaechi in Rivers state.”
Amaechi wondered why Wike would even contemplate honouring him.
“So, what are the bases or criteria for Wike to give an award/honour to a man he (Wike) has rashly attacked and called all sorts of unprintable names in the past two years?”
In reaction to Amaechi's rejection, the Commissioner of Information, Austin Tam-George responded:
"As part of the events of the state’s Golden Jubilee celebration, the state government accepted the recommendation of the organising committee that a variety of awards be given to different categories of individuals who have earned a place in the history of the state.
There is a category of the awards designated for former governors of the State. And as a former governor, Mr Amaechi fell automatically into that category.
We wish to emphasise that the award was never meant as a validation of Mr Amaechi’s administration.
Mr Amaechi was personally indicted for stealing billions of public funds during his time in office, by a court-approved panel of inquiry set up by the state government.
The government will soon initiate a prosecutorial process against him in multiple jurisdictions, in Nigeria and abroad. And no award would have stopped that process.
We must confess that as a government, we wrestled with the moral horror of giving any kind of award to a man whose government was no better than wrong.
Mr Amaechi may be a scoundrel of history, but he was once a governor of the state. The proposed award was to serve as a sad acknowledgement of the especially dark place he occupies in our state’s otherwise illustrious history.
His rejection of the award is, therefore, a huge moral relief for the administration, and the people of the state."
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