TheCable

Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state, says Nyesom Wike, his successor, is trying all within his powers to stop him from becoming a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.

Denying the allegation that N53 billion got missing from the state’s treasury under him, Amaechi described the panel which Wike mandated to investigate him as “invidious”.

Wike received the report of the commission on Wednesday and promised to effect its recommendations “immediately”.

“We will make sure that we swing into action immediately to see that the recommendations by the commission are implemented,” Wike had said.

But Amaechi dismissed the governor’s claim, advising him to focus on achieving “something meaningful” during his last days in office.

“The statement credited to the panel’s chairman, Justice Omeriji of a missing N53 billion is unfortunate and leaves much to be desired,” read a statement issued by Amaechi’s media office late Wednesday.

“The mischief is all the more evident as the funds referred to are funds from the Rivers state reserve fund which was duly approved by the a Rivers state house of assembly and whose expenditure were duly captured and accounted for.

“Ordinarily we might not have responded to the mischief of Mr. Wike knowing that having failed with his various desperate tactics to stop the nomination of the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi as a minister, he has embarked on this last ditch effort which is his trump card in the hope that it will diminish the former governor’s towering stature as a statesman and honest Nigerian.

“However, in keeping with Governor Amaechi’s ethos of transparent and accountable leadership we will again repeat the facts of the matter. Government had set aside the reserve fund as rainy day fund and had need to fall back to it to fund salaries and projects. The details of the expenditure were very clearly captured and this information which was already in the public domain was shared with the incoming administration and the Omeriji panel.

“Government business should be transparent and honest and if indeed Mr. Nyesom Wike understands that basics of governance then he should know that rather than playing to the gallery with his red herring of a panel, he should simply go to court and prove his spurious allegations of corruption.

“We would counsel Mr. Wike to focus on the job at hand and try to make something of the few days he has before he leaves Brick House, per adventure he might yet make some positive impact on the minds of Rivers people.”