How my problem with Jonathan started —Amaechi

THE relationship between the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and former president, Dr Jonathan, broke down irretrievably when the oil wells in Soku, Rivers State, were allegedly given to Bayelsa State.

Amaechi, in a book, “Against the Run of Play,” written by Segun Adeniyi, said “it was as if I was talking to the governor of Bayelsa State rather than the president of Nigeria.”

Amaechi alleged in the book that Jonathan made it clear to him that protecting whatever he considered to be in the interest of Bayelsa was more important to him than “doing the right thing” for all the states in Nigeria.

“At that point, I know there was no way we could work together,” Amaechi added.

According to his account in the book, he was initially fully behind Jonathan’s aspiration to be president, but alleged that the former president, after winning the election in 2011, refused to treat his request for Rivers State as promised.

“That was in bad faith,” he said.

The rift between the two became public with Amaechi’s role as chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and, according to the book, the deal breaker was the management of the Federation Account which belongs to the three tiers of government.

Amaechi said as chairman of the NGF, he questioned why the subsidy payment rose within a year from N300 billion to N2 trillion and Jonathan took it personal.