JONATHAN’S GOVT AUTOCRATIC –AMAECHI

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi yesterday described the Goodluck Jonathan administration as autocratic, saying autocracy is gradually but steadily finding roots in the country’s polity. But he added that if such trend is not checked by the electorate in 2015, the nation would find itself back to the days of the military. The governor who spoke in a paper titled; “Nigeria: the Leadership Question” at the 3rd annual Ogun State Correspondents’ Chapel lecture series in Abeokuta, lamented that government at the federal level has committed much havoc, which is making every Nigerian to become wary of the future of democracy 15 years after returning to it. Amaechi, whose paper was presented by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Seminetari, alleged sitting on resources of the federating units by the federal government. “This is not a true federalism. A situation where somebody will sit in Abuja and deduct money belonging to the states at will, spend it at will and choose to be a prefect over the states is unacceptable. We are a proper Federal Republic and therefore the federal government does not have the power to sit as a prefect. We are a country that claims to be practicing federalism, yet monies are deducted from the source in Abuja without recourse to the state governors. We came together and chose to be part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are not running a confederate system”, he said.