“I Know Politicians Who’ve Suddenly Become Billionaires With Public Fund” – Amaechi

A former Rivers State governor and immediate former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Friday challenged Nigerian politicians to be clear on how they intend to lift citizens out of poverty.

While speaking at a panel session at the fifth edition of The Nigeria Symposium For Young and Emerging Leaders held in Lagos, Amaechi stated that Nigeria is a country without consequences, adding that citizens and voters have failed to hold politicians and leaders accountable for their actions and policies.

According to him, blaming poverty in Nigeria on the influential few who according to him have pocketed the wealth of the nation, he called on politicians to invest in infrastructure as a way to create jobs and minimize crime.

He said he knew some politicians who all of a sudden became billionaires with money that should have been used to provide infrastructure that would help improve the lives of Nigerians. Amaechi said:

“I know politicians who have suddenly become billionaires, and this is the money that should have been used to build roads and provide amenities that could have been used to improve the lives of citizens. Our politicians have to be clear on how they intend to lift people out of poverty.”

A presidential candidate of KOWA Party in 2015, Professor Remi Shonaiya, speaking at the event said:

“We have to educate ourselves in order to become more active, and we have to begin to consider the greater good in our decisions.

“Most of us don’t care about what is happening in the House of Assembly, we are much more concerned about ourselves. The focus has to be on the people, not the government. But we as the people also have to make sure that we hold our leaders accountable to us. There’s too much personal style in the way we practice politics in the country.”