GOVERNOR
Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, yesterday, threatened to stop funding
the police, unless the Inspector General of Police and the Federal
Government redeploy the state Police Commissioner, Mr Joseph Mbu to
another state.
PORT HARCOURT— GOVERNOR Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, yesterday, threatened to stop funding the police, unless the Inspector General of Police and the Federal Government redeploy the state Police Commissioner, Mr Joseph Mbu to another state.
He warned that the continued stay of Mbu was worsening the security situation in the state, particularly, with the recent kidnap of three National Youth Service Corps, NYSC members, adding that he (Mbu) had refused to do the job for which he was posted to the state.
He also accused Mbu of being arrogant and disrespectful to constituted authorities.
“I don’t want a Commissioner of Police that will work for me. I want a Commissioner of Police that will work for the state, the Rivers people. So, it is not only me that you should complain to, talk to Inspector-General of Police and those who transferred the Commissioner of Police that was working in the interest of Rivers people.
Amaechi and CPU Mbu
Amaechi who spoke when the Chairman of the Governing Board of NYSC, Chief Gordon Bozimo led a delegation to him at Government House, Port Harcourt. He said the state Police Commissioner had long abandoned his constitutional role of securing lives and property in the state.
The governor said the crime situation had risen, noting that as Chief Security Officer of the state, there was no way he could achieve any meaningful result in the fight against crime with Mbu as Commissioner of Police.
Amaechi said that the Police Commissioner was a politician, adding that he attends political meetings with those who allegedly brought him to the state.
The governor said: “The Federal Government should post a new Commissioner of Police to Rivers State. I have no control over the current Commissioner of Police, Mbu, even though the constitution says so. He called a press conference, where he said, he does not report to the governor of the state, who is the Chief Security Officer of the state. So, how do I (Amaechi) protect our citizens?” Amaechi queried.
“The Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu is a politician, because he attends political meetings with those who brought him to our state and there is no way you can stop that. The only way you can stop that is to ask the politicians in Abuja to withdraw their Commissioner of Police and allow us to secure Rivers State.
“My fear is that his stay in Rivers State is intended to kill the conducive business climate in Port Harcourt and the fast growing economy of our state,” Amaechi said.
“We used to have a wonderful security system and Commissioners of Police, who understood their functions and knew what to do. But since the Police in Abuja, suddenly withdrew the predecessor of this current Commissioner of Police and posted the person called Joseph Mbu, nothing has been working.
“Mbu has been sitting with politicians and the security system is down and out. Since he came, we have never had peace. We held security council meetings two or three times. But before Mbu came, we held security meetings two or three times every month. We know where our NYSC members are and we knew the level of security arrangement we put in place to protect them. We also sent operatives of Department of State Security, DSS to watch over them.
“We have equipment that monitors what happens in the state. The only way they will not kidnap Corpers is to send Joseph Mbu back to where he came from and post us a Commissioner of Police that will serve the interest of this state.”
Earlier, Chief Bozimo said they were at Government House, to thank the governor for his support for the NYSC scheme, lamenting the recent kidnap of three corps members serving in the state. He appealed to the governor to take steps to guarantee the safety of corps members in the state.
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