Amaechi in a statement signed by his media office in Port Harcourt on Sunday, described the Wike probe of his (Amaechi) administration as a sham and a fraudulent witch-hunt designed to deceive members of the public.
The former governor specifically said Wike was a ‘sick man’ who was obsessed with rubbing him with his (Wike) mud of corruption and trying to gain popularity with ‘concocted bogus’ stories of his (Amaechi) alleged corrupt practices.
He noted that Wike should have moved to Nollywood where his skills would have been useful.
“This so-called Wike’s probe of Amaechi is dead on arrival. All the noise Wike is making is to grab media headlines with his lies of monumental corruption against Amaechi. It’s all drama made for the media.
“What is playing out is a script written and directed by Nyesom Wike. Wike should move to Nollywood where his devious skills would probably be useful. Even while inaugurating his yeoman commission of inquiry, Wike could not conceal his vendetta agenda. He (Wike) was clear to the panel members that their job is to indict Amaechi.
“While it’s no longer in doubt what would be the report of Wike’s sham probe commission, what may shock Nigerians is the extent Wike has gone and is ready to go to manufacture stories of corrupt practices, and the kind of bogus tales of corruption against Amaechi that he will soon be feeding the nation,” the statement read.
The former governor said he was aware the chairman of the commission of inquiry had expressed shock over the list of “phony” claims of corruption against him that was expected to be written in the panel’s report.
Amaechi said, “Wike had assured him (chairman, commission of inquiry) not to worry that he had since been working towards arriving at that conclusion and he would provide the commission with all the (fake) evidence needed to arrive at that report.
“Truly, since May 29, that is all Wike has been doing; cooking spurious reports of corruption against Amaechi. Wike has been intimidating, threatening, coercing and blackmailing officials of the past administration, especially civil servants into making false, phony and bogus statements that would make legitimate government transactions appear as corrupt practices.
“Permanent Secretaries, Directors of Finance and Administration (DFAs), the state bankers and even contractors are harassed, threatened and blackmailed to twist and distort, or even completely alter legitimate government transactions in his desperation to cook up, and fabricate sham cases of corruption against Amaechi. This has been the one-point agenda of the Wike government; a vendetta mission against his former boss and benefactor.”
The former governor vowed that he would use every legal means to protect his name from the current smear campaign and state-sponsored onslaught against him by the Wike administration.
“Amaechi will use every constitutional and legal means available to protect his name and image from this massive smear campaign, state-sponsored onslaught against him by this directionless, purposeless Wike-led government.
“As governor, Amaechi served his people well and the good things he did with the resources of the state are visible all over the state,” the statement partly read.
Amaechi also hit at his former deputy, Mr. Tele Ikuru, for describing his (Amaechi) administration as the most corrupt in the state’s history.
Explaining that no self-respecting man would talk in the manner Ikuru did, Amaechi recalled that his former deputy never complained that he (Amaechi) was corrupt while serving in the immediate past government for eight years.
Amaechi said, “…We won’t waste our energy on him. …No self-respecting man would talk the way Ikuru is talking right now.
“This is a character that served the Amaechi administration for almost eight years. While he was there, he never for once complained that Amaechi or the government that he was the second-in-command was corrupt.
“As a matter of fact, he was singing and parroting everywhere that Rivers State was truly blessed to have a governor like Amaechi; that Amaechi will always be remembered and hailed for changing for good the fortunes of Rivers State.
“Today, he is the one shouting Amaechi is corrupt everywhere. If the government was as corrupt as he claims, what was he doing there for almost eight years, telling the world that Amaechi is the best thing to happen to Rivers State?”
Also, the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has described as a wild goose chase Amaechi’s probe by Wike.
The state APC said in a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, in Port Harcourt on Sunday said that such investigation was laughable and fruitless.
The party noted that Amaechi ran a transparent administration and made it a habit to render account of his stewardship to Rivers people almost on a quarterly basis throughout his eight years in office as governor.
The state APC said it was aware that Wike’s desperate efforts to bring down Amaechi and rubbish his good name despite all his feats as the former state governor were aimed at stopping President Muhammadu Buhari from appointing him into his cabinet.
“One thing Chief Wike and his collaborators fail to understand is that President Buhari knows the politics of Rivers State as he knows his fingers. President Buhari is fully aware that Amaechi and his associates are being viciously persecuted by Wike because he engineered the ouster of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as the President of Nigeria and the election of President Buhari.
“Apart from the above, Chief Wike is embarking upon this worthless vindictive venture knowing very well that he will soon be ignominiously sacked by the Election Petitions Tribunal since he never won the election, but was imposed by Rivers INEC in collaboration with the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party.”
The party said it was not disturbed by Wike’s abracadabra and advised Justice Emereji and his co-panelists not to allow themselves to be used by Wike to cook up non-existent fraud cases against Amaechi.
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