There was a mild drama as the residence of a former commissioner for information in Rivers State, Mrs. Ibim Semenetari as government officials stormed the place with armed and fierce looking security operatives to impound an armoured Jeep, which had served as her official car.
A crane was used to lift the said vehicle out of her residence on Ernest Ikoli Street, Old GRA, Port Harcourt.
While the state government insisted that it was part of moves to recover government’s property, Semenitari also insisted that the vehicle, a Toyota Lexus Jeep, taken away by security agents and Government House officials, was allocated to her as a commissioner.
The former commissioner explained that she was entitled to leave with the vehicle based on the monetisation policy of 2002. She said that the current state Governor, Nyesom Wike, also went away with his vehicles when he was leaving government as the Chief of Staff to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
The state government in a statement from Government House signed by Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu said, “In furtherance of efforts by the Rivers State Government to recover government property from officials of the immediate past administration in the state, security agents and Government House officials on Thursday took possession of government’s vehicle from the home of the former spokesperson for the (Rotimi) Amaechi administration, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari.”
Semenitari said over 10 policemen with machine guns came to her residence without a search warrant and forced their way into her premises.
“Upon further investigation and after about three hours of their laying siege to my premise, I was told that they were from the Rivers State Government House and had been sent to recover vehicles in my possession.
“They attempted to break into a Range Rover Jeep belonging to my husband and bought long before I was made a commissioner in Rivers, damaging the front door. The vehicle in question, contrary to the lies being paraded, is not an armoured vehicle and has never at any point belonged to the Rivers State Government nor its agents, including myself as Commissioner of Information.
“By the time I finally made contact with them and expressed my displeasure, they insisted that they would take away a Lexus jeep duly allocated to me as Commissioner of Information and which by law I am entitled to leave with upon leaving office”, she said.
Also, the state government on Thiursday ordered the sack of 344 lecturers and others employed for the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori-Ogoni, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area.
The teachers were employed by the Rotimi Amaechi administration last September.
The governor also disbanded the Rivers State Road Traffic Management Authority (TIMA-RIV). His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, confirmed TIMA-RIV’s disbandment. TIMA-RIV was put in place by Amaechi, shortly after he became governor on October 26, 2007.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the polytechnic, Innocent Ogbonna, confirmed the sack of the lecturers.
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