The Rivers State Government yesterday announced its decision to prosecute former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, for alleged fraudulent sale of state assets and diversion of $50m.
To be prosecuted with Amaechi are the state’s governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole and his company Sahara Energy.
Governor Nyesom Wike directed the state’s new Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zaccheaus Adangor, to commence immediate action on the prosecution.
He spoke at the swearing in of Adangor and two other new commissioners in Port Harcourt.
The governor said it was important that Rivers people and the rest of the world should know what actually happened to the $50 million that disappeared from state’s account without a proof of business where it was deployed.
“Attorney General, you’re at a critical period where people want to know what the state is going to do with the Judicial Panel of Inquiry after the Supreme Court judgment on it,” Wike said.
He added: “Luckily, you came at the right time when we have preferred criminal charges against the former governor (Amaechi), Sahara Energy, Tonye Cole and the rest of them.
“So, you are coming at the right time to take over the matter and to make sure it is prosecuted diligently. I don’t want to hear excuses. Let the people see what happened to our money.
“The world will see how $50 million from our account was moved to a company without anything to show whether there was a business.”
Wike also asked Adangor to send a protest letter to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over what he called the harassment of the state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Siminalaye Fubara.
The anti-graft agency, according to Wike, had attempted to harass and intimidate Fubara who, before his emergence as the PDP governorship candidate, was the Accountant-General of the state.
He said the EFCC should now realise that the era of impunity and flagrant disobedience of the rule of law was gone and that his administration would not accept such behaviour.
He threatened that the state government would slam the EFCC with contempt if it failed to retrace its steps now that government has secured a court judgment against the EFCC stopping the commission from investigating the state 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.
He said: “We are in a political period. People should not think that they will use EFCC to intimidate or manipulate him (Fubara). Nobody will accept that.
“So you (Attorney General) have to attach the judgment of the candidate against EFCC and send the right signal to them that we are not people that can be cowed.”
When contacted the state Publicity Secretary for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chris Finebone, said part of the matter was already in court and that the party would not want to commit sub judice.
He said: “From what we know it looks like some aspects of the matter are already in court. We don’t know the particular aspect that is in court. So, as a party we have decided not to comment on it so that we do not commit sub judice”.
Contacted, the state Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chris Finebone, said part of the matter was already in court and that the party would not want to commit sub judice.
He said: “From what we know it looks like some aspects of the matter are already in court. We don’t know the particular aspect that is in court. So, as a party we have decided not to comment on it so that we do not commit sub judice.”
Amaechi’s media aide, David Iyofor, also said last night that there was no reaction for the time being.