Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said that his predecessor, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, ought to be in jail if Nigeria practices true democracy.

The governor who spoke in an interview on AIT’s Focus Nigeria said that Amaechi should not be walking free or even be appointed a minister.

Wike also accused Amaechi of violating the rights of the people of the state when the Rivers State Judiciary got shut down during his administration.

“With due respect to President Muhammadu Buhari, I think he shouldn’t have had such a man as a Minister. He (Amaechi) should be in jail for violation of human rights.

“How can somebody oversee the locking up of the judiciary? There was nowhere for people to ventilate their anger. Contracts were breached and people cannot go to court. People relied on police to settle their differences.

“A woman was detained the day she was to be given bail. A pregnant woman was to be given bail right on the day the courts were shut down. The woman gave birth in prison. Imagine that kind of a harrowing experience.

“And that is the man they say is one of the best Governors. No, he is not the best Governor,” Wike said.

Wike stated that model schools built by his predecessor are a wast of billions of naira.

According to him, “What we are trying to do is that with the little resources we are getting, we are trying to renovate old schools through SUBEB.

“You know my former Governor; I worked with him, so I know him too well. When he is flying with people in the helicopter, he will be pointing his fingers and telling them see that school there, I built it. He is that kind of man. If he hadn’t started something, he would kill it.

“But when I see a project that will impact the lives of the people, I complete it. The Degema General Hospital which he started has been completed but when I see a political project, I have no business. So many roads he (Amaechi) did not do and the once he did not complete, I completed them.”

This is in reaction to a statement by Amaechi who lamented the state of insecurity in Rivers State.

The Minister had said, “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 can speak. But from next year, I will begin to speak, if nobody wants to speak.”