by Oluwatosin Fatoyinbo
The Rivers state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi has swiftly reacted to the innuendo by Former Rivers Police Commissioner Joseph Mbu who had yesterday prided himself as the ‘Lion’ that tamed the ‘Leopard of Port-Harcout’, an obvious reference to Amaechi.
Earlier, Amaechi had accused Mbu of being a Police Uniform Politician who almost grounded the economy of Rivers state and who was more concerned about doing the biddings of the Abuja Lords than his professional duty of protecting the lives and property of the people of the state.
The war of words soon continued when Mbu during a Police outing described himself as the Lion that tamed Amaechi the Leopard of Port-Harcout. And the state Governor wasted no time and spared no word in giving Mbu a juicy reply.
Read the full excerpt of the statement.
“Indeed its very sad, pathetic, however ironic that Mbu called himself a lion. Which lion? This character call Mbu Joseph Mbu completely lacks the courage, steel and strength of character of a lion. Rather he’s a shameless, corrupt puppet of a woman. This is a man paid by taxpayers to protect, secure and serve the interests of the people. But when he was in Rivers State, he spurned the people, he trampled on the masses and rather elected to be the partisan servant of one woman, to be the woman’s tool in causing disaffection, confusion and crises in Rivers State. Mbu shamelessly and corruptly turned himself into the toothless attack dog of this woman to fight the government and people of Rivers State.”
“How can a man who has no strength of character to be himself, be a man and stand up to a woman, a man who willingly submits himself to serve as the puppet of a woman call himself a lion? How ironic! Mr. Mbu, no lion behaves like that! You are a disgrace and shame to the Nigerian Police Force.”
Governor Amaechi maintained that Mbu epitomizes everything that is wrong with the police in Nigeria. He said Mbu not only disobeyed the Inspector General of Police during his time in Rivers State but also clearly acted lawlessly, like a man who is above the law and in fact, turned himself into the law. “All these, Mbu did because he was the puppet of one woman, a woman who clearly has no constitutional role to play in the governance of Rivers State or Nigeria. Mbu’s only claim to fame and prominence is because he has turned himself into a willing tool and servant of this woman. Mbu is a very bad example of a police officer.”
Amaechi recounted that when the former Rivers police commissioner finally left the state, Mbu disobeyed the instruction of the Inspector General of Police to pack out of his official residence in Rivers State.
“Mbu refused to pack out because he said he would come back here (to Rivers State) as the Commissioner to organize the 2015 elections. When eventually he packed out and this is a long time after his successor had resumed here, he took everything including the carpet and nothing has happened to him, nobody has punished him for that. During his time here, when we hold Security Council meetings in Rivers State, he goes to report the proceedings of the meetings, what everyone said, to his woman puppeteer. What a shame. Mbu is a disgrace to the Police Force.”
The statement concluded that a thousand Mbus can neither “tame” (using the word of Mbu) Governor Amaechi nor the people of Rivers State to surrender their constitutionally guaranteed democratic rights to anyone, no matter how highly placed.
DAVID IYOFOR
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Rivers State
September 16, 2014
