Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has
declared that the evidence of corruption
against his predecessor now Minister of
Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, is so
overwhelming that the Minister of
Transportation admitted to them publicly, a
statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, his Special
Assistant on Electronic Media says.
Addressing the 106th Quarterly Meeting of
the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers
in Port Harcourt on Monday, Governor Wike
said that Amaechi admitted paying $
39million for a non-existent Justice Karibi
Whyte Mega Specialist Hospital.
He added that the Former Governor
confessed publicly that he sold the State’s
Gas Turbines, which the immediate past
administration diverted the funds.
Governor Wike said: “All the documents that
proved Amaechi’s corrupt acts are authentic.
We never forged documents. The former
governor himself admitted that he paid out
$39million to Clinotech , without a single
block laid anywhere. Is that a document he
claims was forged. Where is the Hospital ?
He has agreed in different interviews that he
sold the state gas turbines for $309million.
Convert $309million United States dollars to
naira and you will understand the level of
fraud. Amaechi left only $204,000 in the
state account. The bank statements of the
pattern of withdrawals from that account
are there for all to see. Can that be forged.
The dates and amounts withdrawn are
clearly written”.
The governor berated the Minister of
Transportation for engaging in the
blackmail of the Supreme Court because his
appeal is pending before the Apex Court
over the establishment of the Rivers State
Judicial Commission of Inquiry.
“There is no time that he loses a case
without blackmailing the Judiciary. He feels
that the only way he can do it is to blackmail
the Supreme Court. You cannot play politics
with everything “.
On the use of hotels for electoral fraud, the
governor warned that any hotel that opens
its facility for electoral fraud and malpractice
will lose its operational certificate of
occupancy.
“Any hotel that is used to rig elections, that
hotel’s certificate of occupancy will be
withdrawn. I will not all that anymore “.
He regretted that the Former Rivers State
Governor has continued to work against the
interest of the State, refusing to use his
position as a Minister to attract benefits to
the people.
Speaking further, he warned traditional
rulers against working with armed gangs to
cause insecurity in their communities.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Rivers State
Council of Traditional Rulers and Amayanabo
of Opobo, King Dandeson Jaja commended
the governor for the commencement of the
reconstruction of 175 public schools across
the state.
He appealed to the governor to set up a
process to check the sale of illicit drugs in
the state.
