It seems that the Presidency is no longer comfortable with the series of allegations of misappropriation of funds and other scam against the former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Several corrupt charges are hanging on Amaechi’s neck.
Information reaching our newsroom revealed that due to the gravity of the Amaechi’s alleged corrupt practices, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC is picking interest in the case. Despite the Amaechi political affiliation with President Muhammadu Buhari, Rivers people are calling for his probe.
Amaechi’s sins are many. During his tenure workers did not receive their salary; he denied pensioners their arrears and stipends. Amaechi was further accused of diverting billions of naira meant for the development of the state to his personal purse. Before he left the Brick House in May 29, 2015, there are lot of abandoned projects which include: Eagle Island/IIaobuchi road, Ogbokoro/Egbelu road, Rumuolumeni road, the monorail project amongst others.
This weekly gathered that President Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure to blacklist Amaechi from the yet to announce ministerial list if he (Buahri) is actually out to fight corruption in the country.
If the information we have gathered so far, Amaechi’s name might be expunged from the ministerial list of nominees.
In a similar development Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to be wholistic in his anti-corruption crusade, by investigating and prosecuting former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, over alleged corruption offences.
The party and its All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart had been at each other’s throat recently, with the latter accusing the former of engaging in a smear campaign, one aimed at preventing the former governor from getting any appointment from the Buhari-led administration.
The governor had also at a function recently held in Abuja, declared that he was not a lover of money and that his successor, Chief Nyesom Wike, was only trying to tarnish his (Amaechi’s) image.
However, PDP, while insisting that Amaechi was corrupt, challenged him to stop hiding and urged the president and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate and prosecute him.
Rivers PDP chairman, Mr Felix Obuah, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, admonished the former governor to stop hiding under the cover of President Buhari and should be man enough to respond to the alleged corruption charges against him.
Obuah, in the statement signed by his media aide, Jerry Needam, further alleged that the degree and number of fraudulent acts initiated and committed by the former governor were shocking and could no longer be glossed over.
“Amazed by new revelations by the (Christine) Ammanpour Live report on the Cable Network News (CNN), bordering on monies stacked in various foreign accounts by the Ubima-born former Governor Amaechi, it will be foolhardy for any responsible government not to take the mind-blowing fraudulent charges from both local and international scenes seriously.
“The Ammanpour Live report said the sum of over $757 million was stacked by Amaechi in a foreign United States (US) Bancorp/Minnesota account.
“A non-governmental organisation, the Integrity Group has also petitioned to President Buhari, as well as the chairman of EFCC of various cases of criminal breach of trust, unlawful self enrichment and conversion of over N70 billion belonging to the Rivers State government by former governor Amaechi, among others.
“This is aside of over $105 million, amounting to about N21 billion which PDP said Amaechi hurriedly transferred from the sale of the Power Assets proceeds account with the Access Bank into accounts of three private companies.
“These three companies are namely the Advante Consulting and Management Company, Result Import Experts Co and the Capital Index Limited, all with the same business address, 25, Trans-Amadi Road, Port Harcourt,” he said.
Describing the alleged discoveries as curious and shocking, Obuah said there was also another unlawful payment to and fraudulent conversion of N4.6 billion by Clinoriv Specialist Hospital and Leisure Limited, and unlawful enrichment of Messrs Collect Nigeria Limited, allegedly used as a conduit pipe to the tune of N1,505,895,072, to defraud the state government under the guise of consultancy.
He said the list of alleged corrupt practices against Amaechi and functionaries of his government was endless and, therefore, called on the president to stop shielding him.
“One of the publications is a two-page affidavit allegedly deposed to by one Livingstone Wechie, a PDP member, who also claims to be the Media/Publicity Director of a nebulous group by the name Integrity Group accusing Honourable Amaechi of various corrupt practices when he was governor of Rivers State.
“Yet, in another publication, a non-existing group, going by the name ‘Association of former elected PDP local government council chairmen in Rivers State’, published a press release, in which it accused President Buhari of witch-hunting in his anti-corruption fight.
“The publication incoherently rambled from the matter of arrest of Dame Gesila Khan to what it called corrupt practices of former governor, Amaechi.
Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the immediate past administration in the state for alleged corruption.
The party has also described as laughable the purported plan of its members to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC); a statement it credited to the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.
Deputy Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, while briefing journalists yesterday in Port Harcourt, in reaction to statements made by APC chieftains in the state, tasked Buhari to maintain his reputation and zero tolerance for corruption, by not having sacred cows in his fight against the economic menace.
Nwanosike said: “Since the President of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, has told the world that he is a man with zero tolerance for corruption, we, Rivers people, are asking that there should be no sacred cow. We are saying that corruption in Rivers State should be investigated and justice should be done to Rivers people.”
He faulted Ngofa’s statement on the state’s economy, asking why the last administration left unpaid workers salaries, pointing out that proceeds from some of the transactions made could not be traced.
“As we speak to you, we cannot trace the proceeds that emanated from all the transactions made over the infrastructure we had in Rivers State provided by past leaders that ensured that the state came to limelight.”
The party claimed that a petition had been raised before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) showing details of fraudulent transactions allegedly made by the last administration between December 1 and 8, 2014.”
“How can you imagine that, between December 1 and 8, 2014, with one address, 25 Trans-Amadi Road, Port Harcourt, over N21 billion of Rivers funds were transferred? We are asking, where did these funds go to?”
Meanwhile, the PDD had challenged the APC gubernatorial candidate, Peterside, to mention its members that had planned for defection, advising him to stop misleading Rivers people.
“We want to ask Dr. Dakuku Peterside to come out clear with his story by telling us names of those PDP leaders that want to defect to APC. It is not enough you make frivolous statements and allegations”.
Speaking further, the PDP also faulted the statement credited to the senatorial candidate of the Rivers South-East, Senator Abe, that election did not take place the State, wondering how an APC House of Assembly member got his votes to become a lawmaker.
“It is worrisome and laughable, that, today, we have in the Rivers State House of Assembly an APC member, who comes from the same senatorial district, representing Eleme local government as a member of the state House of Assembly. Where did he get the vote that took him to the House of Assembly without him participating?”
