Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers was blocked by presidential bodyguards from exchanging pleasantries with President Goodluck Jonathan at a dinner hosted by the president on Wednesday night to avert a possible breach of security, the Special Adviser to the president on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, has said.

The Punch newspaper quoted Mr. Gulak as saying the President arrived the event before the governor and was already seated before Mr. Amaechi and his entourage arrived and that it was a breach of protocols for the Rivers governor to approach  the president after arriving late.

He suggested that the bodyguards only did their job, which is to protect the president and other officials at the event.

Mr. Gulak was responding to comments by the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria, which criticized the president over the incident.

The paper quoted Mr. Gulak  as saying,  “The President has a good relationship with all state governors and he meets with them regularly. The case in point is a pure security issue and it should be treated as a security issue that should not be politicised.

“The question the ACN and others who may want to politicise this issue need to ask is whether the President arrived at the venue of the dinner and was already seated before the governor arrived.

“Usual practice across the world is that once the President arrives a place, nobody whether a governor or not, is allowed entrance. That is the protocol. Even(Barack)  Obama  of the United States cannot be on his seat and a governor will be allowed to come in.

“If that was the situation in this case that the President was already on his seat,  it would have been a breach of protocol and security for any security person to allow the governor access to the President. Such a security person would have been sanctioned if he had done that.”

The ACN, had in a statement by its spokesperson, Lai Mohammed, berated President Jonathan over the incident, and called for a probe.

Mr. Mohammed said, “We are making this call because we do not believe that, in spite of the reported frosty relations between the two, President Jonathan – as the father of the nation – will lend the weight of his high office to such a demeaning action as exhibited by the presidential security personnel.

“To believe that anyone occupying the esteemed office of the President of one of Africa’s most important nations will be a party to a situation in which any security aide will wilfully fence a state chief executive from paying his respect to the President at such an open gathering will be to think the worst of the occupier of that office.

“That is why we have chosen not to believe that this indeed occurred, and why we are calling on Mr. President to tell Nigerians that ‘it ain’t so’ “We shudder to think of what efforts are being made – including the use of national institutions – to undermine Gov. Amaechi if the treatment reportedly meted out to him at the dinner has the approval of the powers that be. We are even more worried at what will happen to a governor from the opposition who falls out of favour with the President, if a governor from the same party as the President can be so publicly humiliated.”

A presidential bodyguard had on Wednesday night stopped Mr.  Amaechi, from getting close to President Jonathan to pay homage.

Mr. Amaechi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and his loyalists arrived the venue when the event was already in progress.

They came in from the Rivers Governor’s lodge where they met earlier for about 15 minutes and then adjourned to honour the President’s invitation.

On his entourage were Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Adams Oshiomole (Edo); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Abdulazeez Kyari-(Zamfara); Muritala Nyako (Adamawa) and Magartakada Wamakko (Sokoto).

Governor Amaechi, after settling down, got up and made his way towards where President Jonathan was seated in company of Presidents Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, apparently to pay homage.

However, the bodyguard blocked the governor from meeting the President. The Governor resisted for a while but had to return to his seat when it was glaring the bodyguard won’t allow him.
Already, the governor has been suspended from the PDP after he won a reelection as chairman of the NGF, despite opposition from his party and the presidency.

Federal aviation authorities have also grounded an aircraft belonging to his state, claiming its importation papers were not in order. The state government has denied the allegation.

Source : http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139780-why-aso-rock-bodyguard-blocked-amaechi-from-president-jonathan-presidency.html

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There is an addage that if a goat walks with a dog, it will definitely eat shit.

A dumb and daft leader can only be associated with daft and dumb followers. This administration keep showing their lack of competence in all ramification. I hope those that voted this adminisration are seeing it all?

Back to the topic, i am hearing it for the first timw that in a inhouse gathering, you will still need protocol to great or exchange pleasantries with your leader.

All i can say, this man is took weak and daft to lead 160 million people, i wonder the drama that happens.in his house or i guess he is the first lady while damn is te preaident.

Shame on all those that preferred to satisfy their stomach rather than their conscince by voting for the goat.

First to comment

Next time Amaechi will learn to be punctual!! They shouldn't have allowed him and his crew to enter the place!!
Because they allowed him entrance,he was trying to overstep his boundary!! If not for GEJ democratic mind,Amaechi and his crew would have been sent back at the gate

mankand: There is an addage that if a goat walks with a dog, it will definitely eat shit.

A dumb and daft leader can only be associated with daft and dumb followers. This administration keep showing their lack of competence in all ramification. I hope those that voted this adminisration are seeing it all?

Back to the topic, i am hearing it for the first timw that in a inhouse gathering, you will still need protocol to great or exchange pleasantries with your leader.

All i can say, this man is took weak and daft to lead 160 million people, i wonder the drama that happens.in his house or i guess he is the first lady while damn is te preaident.

Shame on all those that preferred to satisfy their stomach rather than their conscince by voting for the goat.

First to comment

NO wonder!! You've proved my suspicion!!

That's spot on.
Amaechi is an arrogant peep.
Who knows what the have conspired to do the president in their boko haram meeting earlier,
Probably deliver anthrax poisoning through the handshake .

POLITICS

Governor Amaechi came in late with his so called entourage, probably because they were deliberating on whether to attend the dinner or not. Or maybe they wanted to make a grand entrance to show anyone who cared enough to watch him, enjoy whats left of his political career in Nigeria.
If he continues to lock horns with his president, more embarassments awaits him.

good for that 4kn backstaber... why come to exchange pleasantries with someone u re fighting? He wanted to use Jona-Jona shine, na Oha JO give am sucker punch. Go and exchange pleasantries with your co-haramists.

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More like judas's kiss of betrayal. They say GEJ is clueless but recently he has been taking his oppositions to the cleaners in this political warfare.

Gov. Amaechina would have done the worst if he was GEJ. In the first instance, they wouldnt have allowed them in because it is breach of security. Thank God for GEJ humble and accomodating characters. I dnt know why this Lai M can't see the postive aspect of GEJ but enjoys the negative to gain attention always.

Its so glaring the PDP-laptop dog or Internet warriors have taken over this thread. Why the jabs at Amaechi, IMO he acted maturely by trying to make amends with GEJ...




Let the bashing begin, y'all are ignored.