EFCC operative sweating while counting the huge cash find

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Minister of Transportation and immediate past governor of Rivers State Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has dismissed the claims by his successor Nyesom Wike that the $43 million found in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos belongs to him (Amaechi).

The media team of Amaechi in a statement said Wike, in a suspicious, hurriedly arranged press conference on Friday night, told journalists that ‘the money in question belongs to the former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.’ Wike also insinuated that the ‘houses’ in Ikoyi belong to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

In a statement released by his Media Office on Saturday, Amaechi described the claims as malicious, frivolous and another failed attempt by Wike to divert attention from the mess he has created in Rivers State.

According to the statement: “Wike has stolen Rivers State dry. Wike and his gang have frittered billions and billions of Naira of Rivers people money away. Rivers State is perpetually in crisis, the state in a mess as Wike has made a total mess of governance in the State. That child who sits there as governor is confused, he doesn’t know what to do. Wike’s only solution is to attack Amaechi.”

“Since he became governor, Wike sleeps and wakes up everyday, with a sole, one-point agenda to attack and denigrate Rotimi Amaechi, no matter how ridiculous and silly he sounds. Everyday in Rivers State, there is one frivolous, false story of what Amaechi did or didn’t do. Same pattern, the same blatant lies with no proof, same old concocted stories of corruption allegations against Amaechi told with different flavours. At this rate, if Wike is unable to perform his spousal duties, he will blame it on Amaechi. Yes, that’s how despicably low he can go in his consuming fixation to throw mud at Amaechi.”

“This latest outburst by Wike is typical of him. We are aware that Wike first tried to float the fake news of Amaechi’s ownership of the recovered $43million and the Ikoyi house in the social media using his minions and lackeys, spending huge sums of Rivers money on the failed project. His minions and lackeys were calling journalists, bloggers and media organizations to run the fake story with promises of almost irresistible mouth-watering compensation for using the fake story. When that failed and the story didn’t gain traction that was when Wike decided to hurriedly hold the press conference Friday night, to rant and spew his outright lies, yet again without providing any proof of Amaechi’s ownership of both the property and the money.”

“For clarity and emphasis, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is not the owner of the $43million and the Ikoyi apartment in which the money was recovered from. Amaechi has no business, link or connection to the money or property. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi does not know who owns the money or Ikoyi apartment.”

“Wike’s malicious allegation of corruption against Amaechi in the sale of the Gas Turbines is not new. This false claim has been punctured repeatedly with facts and evidence of the transfer payments for the power plants into Rivers State government accounts by Sahara Energy. The records of how the funds were spent and what it was spent on are in the records of the State government. Amaechi has absolutely no business or any interest whatsoever in Sahara Energy. The company was already a thriving business concern before Amaechi’s emergence as governor of Rivers State in 2007.

“We urge all right-thinking members of the public to completely disregard all the false, politically motivated no-proof claims by Nyesom Wike and his minions as it concerns Amaechi and the $43million and Ikoyi property.

“The false accusations by Wike is purely diversionary, a political smear campaign against Amaechi by Wike, while he steals Rivers State blind. The fake claims is a figment of the imagination of Nyesom Wike.

“Wike is a rabble-rouser and should not be taken seriously. He has made several false claims like this in the recent past and never went the whole length to prove it because he had no proof. Many would recall how Wike was screaming all over national television stations just before the Rivers State legislative Rerun elections that he had an explosive video, containing earth-shaking revelations and he would show the video on national TV. Till date, no video, just talk talk and talk, telling more and more lies.”

“Yet again, we challenge Wike to charge Amaechi to court if he has any shred of evidence that the money belongs to Rivers State and was kept in the Ikoyi apartment by Amaechi. But like his numerous frivolous accusations in the past, we know he won’t go to court. He has nothing to substantiate his blatant lies. This Wike’s recent tale like his previous ones is a big sham, a disgraceful political drama, and a campaign of calumny to defame and destroy the sterling reputation of Rotimi Amaechi. This is now Wike’s sole life ambition.”

“Finally, we want Nigerians to note that Wike’s reckless, irresponsible and fictitious tirade against the President Buhari administration at his media briefing of Friday is a declaration of war against the Federal Government. This has been his regular past time in recent times, making false allegations against the Federal government and threatening the President Buhari administration with fire and brimstone”, the statement concluded.

Also an All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart in Rivers State, Dr Dakuku Peterside has questioned the mental status of Governor Nyesom Wike after claiming that the $45m found at a residence in Ikoyi, Lagos State belong to Rivers State Government.

Dr Peterside, who stated this in a chat with newsmen at the Port Harcourt International Airport, rubbished insinuations by Governor Wike that the money found in Lagos were part of proceeds Rivers State Government realised from sale of gas turbines by the Amaechi administration.

Wike was also quoted to have claimed that the house in question belongs to Amaechi, who has since issued a statement denying ownership of the said building.

He accused the Rivers State governor of turning governance to a circus show and lacking in sense of dignity by constantly being in the news for all the wrong reasons.

“Not too long ago, Wike apparently suffering from overdose of self delusion said he had awarded road projects in far away Benue State and had mobilised contractors to site.

“The same Wike has also accused the Inspector General of Police of plotting to assassinate him through the new CP in Rivers State.

“We thought these were jokes taken too far. But the clownish governor has surprised himself with another tales by moonlight in trying to link his former boss and benefactor to the unclaimed money.

“I think we need to check the sanity and mental status of Governor Wike. Time and time again, he is bringing ridicule to the office he occupies and embarrassing the people of Rivers State who are known to be intelligent, responsible and decent in upbringing,” he stressed.

He explained that Amaechi had since denied owning the said house in Lagos and challenged the Rivers State Government to provide evidence to the contrary.

Peterside, who was commissioner for works under Amaechi, noted that the money realised from sale of gas turbines were paid into the account of Rivers state and the money used for projects.

“While Wike can never come near the record of Amaechi, the current governor is doing everything to reverse the unmatchable records of his predecessor.

” As at today, no one has seen copies of 2016 and 2017 budgets of Rivers State. Schools and health centres are shutting down with thousands of school age children out of school. Rivers children on scholarship abroad have been withdrawn.The same governor has wasted Rivers money to host two failed conventions of a sinking PDP. His party chairman has accused him of using $6m to influence judicial officers.

“Wike has the unenviable record of governing a state having the most state-linked killings in Rivers history. He rose to become the governor of Rivers State on the bloods of innocent people.

“It is people like Wike who have made Nigerians to call to question the issue of immunity in the Constitution. He is taking immunity as shield to abuse the dignity of the office of Governor.

“The governor can still retrace his steps and follow the path of dignity, decorum and respect the office he occupies for he holds it in trust on behalf of Rivers people,” he summed up.

Reacting to the same issue, the Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, accused Governor Nyesom Wike of tactics to divert attention by insisting that the controversial unclaimed US$45m belong to Rivers State government.

The party accused Wike of using the discovery of to deflect attention away from the serious allegation made by the PDP National Chairman, Sen. Alli Modu Sheriff accusing him of disbursing US$5m bribe money to the Supreme Court through unnamed fronts and another US$1m to lawyers defending the Markafi Caretaker Committee at the Supreme Court, all monies belonging Rivers State.

The APC in a statement signed by its publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, says that the party believes that Gov. Wike was stunned by the surprised revelation by Sheriff hence the need to create a façade to deflect away attention from the humongous fraud and the anxiety and worry the people of Rivers State are now expressing about the opaque handling of the State’s resources.

According to APC “The governor has refused to make public the State’s budget for the second year running since he became governor. We believe that the stunning revelations in financial misappropriation of resources of Rivers State by Senator Sheriff gave rise to Gov. Wike’s present wild allegations to divert attention from the mess he has found himself in.

“The APC will not dignify Gov. Wike’s inexplicably timid suggestion that former governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has anything to do with the Osborne Road house or the money allegedly found there. The Honourable Minister has already addressed the matter and we believe that the EFCC and government of Lagos State will not find it difficult to ascertain the owner of the property and consequently the money.

“However, very troubling to Rivers people is what appears to be the governor’s total loss of logical reasoning as depicted by his penchant to speak before he thinks. Indeed, Governor Nyesom Wike’s situation on this score is proving to be worse than we earlier thought and further worsened by the wild and outlandish statements that have been coming from him to foul media space. He leaves many shocked at the degenerate slide in the governor’s overall cognitive health.

The state APC said that federal government cannot escape blame for either making light or ignoring Wike and his errant antics and utterances and ignoring the governor’s mischief is not the best option in dealing with this evil genius of a governor.

They said that if his previous utterances, especially his allegation of assassination attempts he made against the Inspector-General of Police had been investigated, he would have had a second thought making further wild allegations every now and then to divert attention from himself. The insult of issuing a 7-day ultimatum to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria smacks of daring the Buhari government to a wrestling match. Will the federal government continue to watch Gov. Wike carry on as if no other superior authority exists in Nigeria?

The APC called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Attorney-General of the Federation and other relevant investigative agencies to diligently investigate accusations by Gov. Nyesom Wike to establish their veracity or otherwise. We call on the federal authorities to invite and interrogate the Commissioner of Communication & Information, the Accountant-General and the Commissioner of Finance of the State to help the security agencies unravel the spate of outlandish allegations by Gov. Nyesom Wike.