The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi
Amaechi, has again given reasons why he is opposed to the Judicial Commission
of Inquiry set up by Governor Nyesom Wike to probe some government
transactions, while he (Amaechi) was in office.
The former Governor noted that all his successor was seeking
was to see his political down fall.
In a statement signed and made available to newsmen by
Amaechi’s media office, the Minister of Transport reiterated and emphasized
that he’s not afraid of a fair and decent probe or investigation or inquiry of
his administration; and would cooperate and support such probe or investigation
or inquiry in as much as such was done within the ambit of the laws.
The statement reads, “Wike has set out to do is anything but
a fair probe. The commission will not be fair to Amaechi because it was set up
to indict him.
“Wike had repeatedly held that Amaechi, the person to be
investigated, acted illegally in the disbursement of public funds and that
Amaechi ran a corrupt government.
“Clearly, Wike has prejudged the matter and showed his bias
that Amaechi is guilty even before investigations.
“This means Wike, with his prejudiced, made up mind has
taken a position of a guilty verdict even before the outcome is known or
established.
“The same Wike who had adjudged the yet-to-be-investigated
conduct of Amaechi as illegal and Amaechi as corrupt, is the same person that
has gone ahead to set up a commission of inquiry and will have the final say on
the findings of the commission. What a sham!
“This bias and predetermined agenda to indict Amaechi is
obvious even in the terms of reference of the commission. In one of the
defective terms of reference, Wike said the Commission should investigate the
circumstances that led to the ‘sale of the state Hotel Olympia’.
“With a fair and decent probe, the Inquiry should have been
‘to examine (or investigate) the transaction concerning Hotel Olympia’.
“The difference is so clear: In the former, jaundiced Wike’s
Term of Reference, it has been prejudiced and concluded that the Hotel was
sold, while in the latter, the Inquiry is open and fair, and may lead to a
finding of a sale or a lease or even a gift or even a pledge.
“Now, having so concluded that Hotel Olympia was sold, would
Wike be decent and humble enough to reverse himself if documents showed it was
never sold but concessioned or leased?
“This is one of the dangers of Wike’s commission that
harbours a predetermined outcome in the name of an Inquiry and Amaechi will not
subject himself to Wike’s deceit and phony shenanigans. Hotel Olympia was never
sold.
“The hotel was only concessioned (or leased) on the approval
of the State Executive Council and not sold.”
“Even while inaugurating his yeoman commission of Inquiry,
Wike could not conceal his vendetta agenda. He was clear to the panel members
that their job is to indict Amaechi.
“And to do this his dirty hack job, he got Justice G. O.
Omereji(the commission chairman), a man who is well known to harbour a long
held, extreme anger, hatred and animosity against former governor Amaechi.
“And Justice Omereji has never disguised this his stance and
disposition towards Amaechi. As a matter of fact, Justice Omereji even advised
a former Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) chairman in Rivers State on measures (to
take) against then Governor Amaechi.
“He had expressed his hatred for Amaechi several times to
the NBA chairman who was also an Attorney-General of Rivers State. How can we
now expect Justice Omereji to be fair to Amaechi, the person he passionately
loathes with extreme malice and venom?”
“Anyone who has been following events in Rivers State knows
this Wike probe is just a fraudulent sham, a deceptive mission to indict
Amaechi.
“Wike’s one-point agenda is to go after his predecessor.
Immediately Wike took over, he made a show and gave a performance of his false
accusations that Amaechi stripped the Governor’s Lodge bare, saying that the
former governor stole spoons, plates, knives, cups, mattresses, forks and even
curtains from the Governor’s Lodge! However, in the images Wike showed to back
his lies, the curtains in the lodge were clearly there, seen and intact.
“Again, Wike claimed he met a completely empty treasury.
That again is another big lie and grand deception. We have said that former
governor Amaechi left billions of naira and we even went ahead to mention the
banks and give the names of the accounts the money were, as at May 29, 2015.
“We challenge Wike to publish the statements of these
accounts and other Rivers State government ministries, departments and agencies
(MDAs) accounts as at May 29; to prove his claim and show the public that
Amaechi left an empty treasury for him.
“This Wike’s probe is dead on arrival. It’s ill-conceived
and ill-motivated. Wike’s probe is designed to twist and distort, or even
completely alter selected legitimate government transactions in his desperation
to cook up, and fabricate sham cases of corruption against Amaechi.
“Wike’s probe commission shall not achieve anything beyond
political excitements, entertainment and theatrics.
“Finally, Amaechi will continue to use every constitutional
and legal means available to protect his name and image from this massive smear
campaign, State-sponsored onslaught against him by Wike led government whose
sole agenda is a desperate search for a Rotimi Amaechi political downfall.”
