TheCable

Rotimi Amaechi, Rivers state governor, has replied a statement from the presidency accusing him of irresponsible and rascally behaviour.

Reacting to the statement, Ibim Semenitari, his commissioner for information and communication, noted Amaechi, as an elected official, could not be threatened by the president.

“I would want to say that the presidential spokesman should be careful for the kind of threats he issues to an elected governor,” Semenitari said.

“He should remember that the president is not a prefect of the governor. He was elected as president just as the governor was elected as a governor, and Nigeria is a federation.”

Observing that Amaechi did not mention the president or his wife at the rally, Semenitari said Abati did not get his facts right before publishing the statement.

“And please, Abati should know his limits and need not attempt to cross his boundaries.

“It is a bit strange to hear the kind of comments coming out of the presidency and this showed that that statement was already prepared before Governor Amaechi spoke.

“At no point in his speech did Governor Amaechi make any references. His wife was not even discussed because she is not an official of government.

“I do not understand where or how Mr Abati got his story, so we just take it that this is one of those clear indications of rascality with the presidency trying to call a dog a bad name and hang it.”