October 27, 2014 – Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotinmi Amaechi has warned Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Ruben Abati to be mindful of his words and the way he chooses to address the governor of the state.
While reacting to the Presidential Spokesman’s reply to Amaechi’s utterance on Saturday, the governor said he never made any reference to the person of the first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan as alleged. The governor who spoke through his Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari described Abati as the rascal within the Presidency.
“I would want to say that the Presidential Spokesman should be careful for the kind of threats he issues to an elected Governor.
He should remember that the President is not a prefect of the governor. He was elected as President just as the Governor was elected as a governor, and Nigeria is a federation. And please, Abati should know his limits and need not attempt to cross his boundaries.
“It is a bit strange to hear the kind of comments coming out of the Presidency and this shows that the statement was already prepared before governor Amaechi spoke.
“At no point in his speech did Governor Amaechi make any references. His wife was not even discussed because she is not an official of government. I do not understand where or how Mr. Abati got his story, so we just take it that this is one of those clear indications of rascality within the Presidency trying to call a dog a bad name and hang it”, she said.
