What Prompted My Trouble With Jonathan- Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state earlier today, August 3, opened up on the cause of his fracas with the immediate past president, Goodluck Jonathan.
At a reception organised for him by committee of friends at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, today, Amaechi said fuel subsidy rose from N300 billion to N1.9 trillion within six months of Jonathan’s administration.

 ‘’The fuel subsidy was N300 billion under former President Olusegun Obasanjo and it remained the same under President Umaru Yar’Adua. Yet, Jonathan wanted more money for fuel subsidy. This prompted the trouble between me and the Jonathan administration,’’ he said.
He lamented at the dwindling state’s allocation from the Federation Account
“From 2013, we were receiving N6 billion; by the time I left office, our wage bill monthly was N9.2 billion.’
“He attributed the increase to employment of more teachers for the university, college of education, polytechnics as well as secondary and primary schools,” he said.
Amaechi also said it has been quite challenging since he joined APC. He acknowledged that APC’s victory at the presidential election was divinely engineered with the choice of a good and credible presidential candidate.
“And I saw it coming and told my friends that we would win. People thought I was a political mathematician. The more I prayed, the more God gave me the confidence that we would win, he said.
Amaechi, however, appreciated the organisers of the reception and reaffirmed that APC must deliver as the citizens would hold the party accountable in 2019.
“We will not disappoint Nigerians. We believe APC governors are progressives and therefore, they cannot afford not to deliver,’’ he said.
John Oyegun, national chairman of the party, extolled Amaechi as hyper active and commended him for his ability to struggle, fight and win power.
“Amaechi brought passion and energy into APC and he was aware of the risks of failure. The man we are celebrating today deserves honour,’’ Oyegun said.
Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state and chairman of the occasion described Amaechi as a transformative leader.
“He has no regard for ethnic affiliation; he has no regard for religious affiliation. He is a devout Catholic who believes that every human being is entitled to his or her religious beliefs.
 “What matters most to Amaechi are fairness, equity and justice and I am happy to call him my friend,’’ El-Rufa’i said.
El-Rufai said Amaechi contributed immensely to efforts to increase the collection of the Permanent Voter Cards from 50% to 90% nationally, shortly before the general elections.