Amaechi is my Son, says Dame Patience Jonathan

Amidst a rash of reactions over the festering political crisis in Rivers State, the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan,  Wednesday gave an insight into why the state has been on the boil in recent time.

According to her, the crisis in the state, took a turn for the worse following the wresting of the structure of the state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from loyalists of the  governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, began four years ago.

SIMON KOLAWOLE: We’d Soon Start Drinking Our Oil

Simon Kolawole Live!: By Simon Kolawole, Email: simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com

Did you watch the thugs in the Rivers State House of Assembly last Tuesday? I later learnt that they were, in fact, legislators. A group of five, led by Babakaya Bipialaka, had ridiculously tried to remove the Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree, with a fake mace. Bipialaka is an opponent of the state governor, Chibuike Amaechi, while Amachree is pro-Amaechi. Shortly after Bipialaka was “elected” Speaker, a group of 27 pro-Amaechi lawmakers entered the chamber. In the videoed fracas, Amaechi’s loyalist, Chidi Lloyd, grabbed the fake mace and began to use it as a weapon of mass destruction. He later narrated how he was eventually given the beating of his life. In the “movie”, Amaechi’s security aides also contributed some useful punches and whiplashes to the show of shame. And so on and so forth.