The senate today finally screened former Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi. During his screening, Rotimi Amaechi informed the senate of his achievements while he was the speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly and also as governor of the state.
Speaking on corruption, Amaechi said he is a man that doesn’t like corruption and has always stood against it since his days as a Student Union President. He said he finds it difficult to do what people want him to do if it clashes with his standing principle.
He said he is unable to define corruption as it takes various forms and that corruption does not only entail the exchange of money. He said given positions to close relatives who do not qualify for a job is also a form of corruption.
He stated that there is no where he has been indicted of being corrupt and that he has never taken bribe before. “‘If they send a girl to you to do something for her and you sleep with the girl, you are corrupt.’ he said
Amaechi said he was very vocal as a president of the Nigerian Governors Forum because he believed that he needed to fight for the rights of Nigerians. Amaechi suggested that he will become a senator after he is made minister.
He said he believed in APC and the change it has promised. According to him, Power and Executive impunity has been checked since APC came into power.
On how to reduce unemployment, Amaechi said investing in Agriculture and Technology is a major way of providing job opportunities in Nigeria. He also said that peace is a key factor to improving employment base in Nigeria.
On how APC took PDP out of power, he said they were able to inform Nigerians that there was massive corruption in system and that things needed to change. He spoke on how Federal might affected him while he was governor. He narrated how for three years he had a rocky relationship with his state commissioner of police and the state director of DSS.
He advocated for punishment for defaulters in the Nigerian system. He was asked to take a bow and go
