Former Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has dared his successor, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike to go ahead and prosecute him if he is sure of his facts, as contained in the report submitted by the Justice George Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry that investigated the sale of valued assets of the state.
This is as former commissioners during the administration of Amaechi yesterday declared that the eight-year tenure of the governor was the most transparent and prudent in the management of resources in the history of the state.
Amaechi’s media aide, David Iyofor, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday, said the Omereji-led commission did not disappoint as it lived up to expectations as a shambolic inquisition panel that was set up to indict Amaechi.
“At every point during the public hearing, Justice Omereji clearly showed his bias and determination to indict Amaechi and officials of his administration. Most times, the panel chairman simply concluded that they were corrupt, even before all the facts are made known to the panel, even before all sides had been heard.
“On one occasion, Omereji said he wished the panel had the powers of a court so he could lock up, perhaps for life, these so called corrupt officials. Indeed, the Wike panel was an inquisition against Amaechi. Wike should go to court if he has any case of alleged corrupt activities against Amaechi. His panel is not and can never be a law court,” the statement read.
Continuing, the statement pointed out that “Wike’s regular childish tantrums, theatrics, comedy and drama of screaming huge bogus and phantom figures of missing or stolen or misappropriated billions of naira by the Amaechi administration have become a silly and sickening distraction. Mr. Wike, since you do not know and none of your coterie of court-jesters is bold enough to tell you, we will tell you; you sound like a broken record. Our polity can certainly do without this madness.”
Meanwhile, former commissioners during the administration of Amaechi have described as infantile and the height of gross irresponsibility for the state government to request that the former governor return the sum of N33 billion allegedly embezzled from the monorail project to its coffers.
Addressing newsmen on behalf of the former commissioners at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre, Port Harcourt, the former commissioner for Information and Communication, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, wondered if the N33 billion in question was the amount spent on the first phase of the monorail project.
Semenitari said, “it is infantile and the height of gross irresponsibility to request that the sum of N33Bn be returned to the Rivers State Government. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the rudiments of governance and infrastructural developments.
“Pertinent issues to be raised; The N33Bn in question, is it the money that has been spent on the project? Has the “so called” panel established any case of financial impropriety? What is the Wike administration’s position on securing the assets of the project e.g. the trains that are just wasting away at the station?”
Semenitari pointed out that the monorail project was even more significant now given the recent fall in the price of oil and the need for governments to create conducive environment for local businesses to thrive, adding that there is no better way of helping local businesses thrive than putting in place a proper transport infrastructure network.
“As at the end of the tenure of Rt. Hon Chibuike Amaechi, 2 stations had been completed; Azikiwe and UTC Stations. The Depot and Sharks Park stations were already 80% completed. The train has been mounted and tested. In fact, the first phase of the project (2.6 Km stretch) could be said to have been technically completed,” she added.
On the Agricultural Credit Scheme of the Amaechi administration, the former commissioners explained that the scheme was intended to facilitate the flow of credit to farmers to enable them expand and consolidate their holdings and that sums were set aside for disbursement to farmers in the various local government areas of the state by way of grant, that the programme concentrated on cropping, fishing, livestock, processing, storage, forestry, marketing etc, that a total no of 380 mother cooperatives were engaged after scaling through the eligibility criteria, that there were a total no of 2553 subgroups engaged by the mother cooperatives, a total of N4bn was earmarked for the implementation this programme and the completion of the fish farm projects and so far, about N3.1bn had been disbursed from the funds, leaving behind about N900million with Rivers State Ministry of Agric account for the completion of the projects.
On the alleged fraudulent sale of Rivers state power assets and conversion of proceeds amounting to N60.4bn, the former commissioners explained that the state executive council after extensive deliberations on 15th and 16th August 2012, took a decision to sell 70 per cent of its equity in the power assets of the state and that the sale was carefully considered.
