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dates and amounts withdrawn are clearly written".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be withdrawn.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.
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