- The Rivers state government has accused Amaechi of selling one of the state assets for N112bn
- The government alleged that the transport minister used the money to fund the APC campaign in 2015
- The minister is yet to react to the fresh allegations by the Rivers state government
The Rivers state government has said the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has a case to answer over the alleged sales of gas turbine power stations belonging to the state government.
The commissioner for information in the state, Emma Okah, said in a statement on Monday, September 17, that Amaechi, who was the governor of the state at the time, sold off the power stations to Sahara Energy, owned by a billionaire businessman from the state, Tonye Cole, towards the end of his administration.
Okah said the then administration allegedly used the proceeds – N112 billion – to fund the political activities of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which Amaechi is its leader in the state, Premium Times reports.
READ ALSO: Breaking: Barely a week of court's order, WAEC finally confirms Adeleke sat for 1981 exams
Cole recently resigned from the board of Sahara Energy to “join active politics”.
He is said to be Amaechi’s favourite for the APC ticket for the 2019 governorship election in the state.
“The reason for Tonye Dele Cole is now better explained. There is need to cover the skeletons in the cupboard,” Okah said in the statement.
Okah said the alleged diversion of the funds was the reason the Amaechi administration “left many projects uncompleted and owed salaries and pensions to workers before he left office in 2015”.
Apart from the power assets, the commissioner said Sahara Energy also bought the Olympia Hotel and other high-value state assets under suspicious circumstances from the administration.
Amaechi’s successor, Governor Nyesom Wike, had set up a judicial commission of inquiry which indicted Amaechi on the sales of the assets.
“The Justice Omereji Commission of Inquiry investigated the spurious sales and indicted the minister of transport and instead of refunding the money, the minister rushed to court to set aside the findings of the commission. He lost at the high court and at the court of appeal. His appeal to the Supreme Court has been abandoned because, for over a year, he has failed to file a brief of argument,” Okah said.
Premium Times stated that it could not immediately get Amaechi’s reaction to the story as the minister’s media office did not respond to the calls, SMS, and email sent through.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that Senator Magnus Abe on Monday, September 17, vowed that nobody can stop his ambition to become the next governor of Rivers state.
Abe, who represents Rivers Southeast constituency at the National Assembly said nobody can deny him the right to contest for the governorship position of Rivers state.
Speaking during an interactive session with the Coalition of Youths in Port Harcourt, Abe said, only God has the power to stop him from contesting in the 2019 governorship election in the state.
Senator Kwankwaso Rabiu announces his Presidential Bid (Election 2019) on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng