Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has directed the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zaccheaus Adangor, to commence immediate prosecution of his predecessor and former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, over the alleged fraudulent sale of State assets and diversion of $50 million.
Wike gave the directives yesterday, at the Executive Chamber of Government House, Port Harcourt, during the inauguration of three new commissioners.
The Governor named those to be included in the prosecution as Rivers All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, along with his company Sahara Energy.
The Governor said there was a need for Rivers people and the rest of the world to know what actually happened to the $50 million that disappeared from the State’s account without proof of business where it was deployed.
Wike further directed Adangor to send a protest letter to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), following the harassment of Rivers State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Siminalaye Fubara.
Those sworn-in by the Governor and their portfolios are Prof. Adangor, Isaac Kamalu, Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and Dr. George-Kelly, Dakorinama Alabo, Commissioner for Works and Special Projects.
The Governor said EFCC should know that the era of impunity and flagrant disobedience to the rule of law was gone and that his administration would not accept such behaviour.
He threatened that the State Government would charge the EFCC for contempt if it failed to retrace its steps.
Wike explained that hitherto, the State Government had secured a subsisting court judgment against the EFCC stopping the Commission from investigating the States’ finances or its officers.
He said there was also another subsisting judgment against EFCC by the PDP governorship candidate on the enforcement of his fundamental rights, noting that nobody would accept the use of EFCC in such a political period to intimidate persons in order to achieve their skewed goals.
The governor commended the newly sworn-in commissioners for showing capacity, loyalty and commitment in previous assignments without excuses.
Wike informed that he would be careful in constituting his cabinet to full capacity because at such twilight of his administration, only people with undivided loyalty were needed to ensure a good ending.
