‘Wike’s move to prosecute Amaechi, Cole, others over alleged N96bn mere cover-up’

By Amaka Agbu

The current move by the governor of Rivers State, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, to prosecute former Transportation Minister, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, APC 2023 gubernatorial candidate, Arch. Tonye Cole, and others for alleged N96 billion fraudulent sale of Rivers State assets has been described as a ploy carefully crafted by the governor to divert attention and conceal his own alleged financial misdeeds.

Reacting to Wike’s move to drive the prosecution, Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) Chief Eze Chukwumeka Eze, who made the assertion, alleged that the governor was trying to conceal the alleged misappropriation of N345 billion and N20 billion allegedly “squandered over his elusive presidential and VP dreams”, DailyTimes gathered.

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had after swearing in three new commissioners ( Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice; Hon. Isaac Kamalu as Commissioner for Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning; Dr. George-Kelly Dakorinama Alabo as Commissioner for Works and Special Projects) had directed the new Attorney-General to commence diligent prosecution of Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, Mr. Tonye Cole, Sahara Energy, and others over the sale of state assets.

The APC Chieftain maintained that the prosecution “showed how mischievous and confused Governor Nyesom Wike can be.”

Chief Eze, then, urged the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, to redouble its efforts to arrest Sim Fubuara, former Wike’s Director of Finance and Accounts, now the Rivers State PDP flagbearer. He also tasked Rivers people to use the 2023 election to sack “the Very Corrupt PDP Administration in Rivers State.”

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According to Eze, the Supreme Court judgement had maintained that the Judicial Commission set up by the Wike’s Administration lacked powers to try Ameachi as the probe panel was a mere fact-finding commission, adding that the said N96B was duly captured in the 2014 budget of the state.

Describing Wike’s action as vendetta, Chief Eze said that Governor Wike was not relenting in his bid to destroy the reputation of the former Minister.

“Nigerians are very much aware of Chief Nyesom Wike’s desperation to drag Amaechi’s name in the mud in order to continue to portray him as a corrupt person before the public

“To begin with, Governor Wike would have released Sim Fubara to the EFCC to explain how such whopping sums could be withdrawn on a single day, instead he empowered supporters of the Rivers State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Sim Fubara to beat up officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when the EFCC operatives attempted to arrest him when the chartered plane carrying him and other PDP members landed at the Omagwa Airport in Rivers State from Abuja.

“His plots against Amaechi and the Rivers APC is an exercise in futility. He will not allow EFCC to investigate the former Accountant-General and his guber candidate, but he is giving directives to AG to file a case against his predecessor even when there is a perpetual injunction gotten by Gov. Odili against probing the financial activities of Rivers State Government officials. Let’s see how the Judge to handle this matter will ignore this existing injunction,” he stated.

Eze, therefore, warned that Wike should not use Amaechi to cover the alleged “massive looting of the Rivers State treasury” and should explain how he “wasted a whopping sum of N20Bn in pursuance of his failed presidential bid and bow the report trending is that he has also spent undisclosed amount in millions of dollars to bribe a panel to choose him as a running mate for Atiku Abubakar.”

Eze asked Wike to explain the rationale of his alleged “donation of about N10bn of public funds in unsolicited charity to states, and about N20bn pursuing his ill-fated presidential bid.”

Continuing, he said, “For Accountant-General wanted for N345 billion fraud by EFCC to be declared the Flag-bearer of PDP in the 2023 gubernatorial election is nothing but for Wike to protect all that he has looted,” he alleged.