The
Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, has disclosed that some of his
colleagues in the federal cabinet are currently squatting in Abuja.
He spoke in an interview with Osasu Igbinedion, on The Osasu Show.
“Listen
to me; do you know that ministers, as we are talking now, some of them
are squatting? We are living in conditions equal to that of most
Nigerians,” the former Rivers Governor said.
Commenting on
the rail line recently commissioned, Amaechi said the project would ease
accommodation challenges facing those who cannot afford the high rent
charged in Abuja.
His words: “For those who don’t have houses,
they’re able to rent houses at a cheap cost in Kaduna as against that of
Abuja. It also impacts the savings; you have disposable income in your
hand. It also impacts on agriculture, agricultural produce, you can
transport easily and it will impact on cost of production because at
that point, you’re able to move the cargo at a cheaper cost.
“And
then whatever comes out of production, will be sold to the people at a
cheaper cost. So basically, it has economic importance that would at the
end of the day, impact on the socio-economic entities of Kaduna and
Abuja.”
On allegations that he is corrupt and calls on President
Muhammadu Buhari to sack him on that basis, Amaechi responded: “You know
I have said I several times, if I was to be the governor, and I have
evidence against them, I would go to court.
“Okay, I’m at the
court of appeal as former governor and I said ‘can I see the report
that says I was indebted’? Till today, they’re not able to produce the
report so the case is not able to go on because judges of the court of
appeal say ‘we can’t go on except we see the documents to base our
judgment on’.
“Till today, Rivers State government is not able to
produce the document. So if a man is corrupt, don’t go to radio and TV,
produce the evidence.
“No Nigerian is thinking about it; oh
Buhari should sack Governor Amaechi he’s corrupt, provide it, he doesn’t
need to sack me. What will sack me is to provide the evidence in court;
the president will have no choice but to relieve me of my position.”
Amaechi,
who refused to answer a question regarding his publicized truce with
the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, also spoke on political crisis
in his home state.
“I served as governor for eight years. Let one
person come forward and say Amaechi supervised the killing of somebody
or hired political thugs to go and kill somebody or hired political
thugs to disrupt a meeting,” Amaechi said.
“From when I started
politics in 1987 till now, I’m looking for the person. In all these
madness going on in Rivers State, have you read anywhere in the
newspaper where my name is mentioned about killings?
“First, I’m a
Christian, I believe that only God can create human beings and if you
take life, it is irreplaceable and there is no justification, whether
political or religious or anything that can make you take life. If you
do that, first, the law should come after you, secondly, your God should
judge you.”