Armoured helicopters: Gov. Wike reveals that Rivers govt. wrote to FG to hand them over to NAF; Alleges – Amaechi bought them because he could not provide good governance

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has revealed that he officially wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari asking that the two armoured helicopters bought by the immediate past administration in the state .be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force.

He explained that he wrote the letter following the high custom duty charged for the helicopters and the refusal of the present administration to grant the Rivers State Government the waiver to clear the two armoured helicopters.

A statement issued by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media informed that the governor spoke during an interview with editors of Sun Newspapers titles on Saturday in Port Harcourt.

The governor said that it was unfortunate that Security Agencies would resort to political propaganda and outright lies, when the facts of the two armoured helicopters are public knowledge.

He said: “These helicopters were imported by the immediate past administration. When I assumed office, we wrote to the Federal government that it was strictly for security use. What am I going to use armoured helicopters for?

“In any case, where will the Rivers State Government get money at this time to import armoured helicopters. The previous administration imported it because they had the money.

“I went to to the Federal Government to give me a waiver for us to clear the helicopters, but the Federal Government refused.

“I wrote a letter to the President and to assure him that the helicopters are meant for security purposes, it should be handed over to the Nigerian Air Force “.

The governor added: “I am surprised that they have started propaganda and political falsehood on the said armoured helicopters. What kind of country are they turning Nigeria into ?

“We stated that we cannot pay the custom duties because the helicopters are not for commercial use. They are to be used to monitor the creeks and track criminals.

“I wrote to the President to give the helicopters to the Airforce. It is shocking that the Customs would turn around to claim that they impounded the helicopters. The Chief of Staff to the President admitted that I have done well when I wrote the letter to the President.”.

It will be recalled that the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi in December 2012 announced the payment for two helicopters for security surveillance.

In another statement , the Wike government claimed that Amaechi could not provide the people of Rivers State with good governance that was why he had to recourse to the purchase of Armoured Helicopters.

The statement by Nwakaudu said that Gov. Wike has no need for Armoured helicopters because he has provided the good people of Rivers State with good governance and they are happy with him.

“In any case, Rivers State is not at war with any country, hence there is no need for armoured helicopters.

“Governor Wike will continue to deliver good governance to the Rivers people. This has led to the improvement of security, despite the evil political machinations of Amaechi and his cohorts,” the statement concluded.