At the plenary on Wednesday, Senator George Sekibo (Rivers East), presented a petition by a group known as The Integrity Group, demanding the rejection and withdrawal of the name of the state Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, as a ministerial nominee in view of allegations of financial impropriety levelled against him when he was the governor of Rivers State. The petitioners attached a number of documents to back their allegations.
The petition was entitled: ‘Petition Against Ministerial Nominee: Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi: Demand to Withdraw and Reject His Nomination and Appointment on Corruption, Criminal Breach of Trust, Unlawful Enrichment and Conversion of over N70 billion Rivers Peoples Monies by the former Governor of Rivers State.’
The group, which described itself as a non-governmental organisation operating in Rivers State, said its goal was to fight corruption and ensure that corrupt persons are brought to justice and stolen monies recovered.
Breaking down the figures, the petitioners alleged the fraudulent sale of state power projects secretly without advertising it in accordance with the policy of public procurement as well as the conversion of $302 million proceeds of the sales to N60.480 billion without remitting it to the state coffers.
According to them, Amaechi secretly sold the four power plants belonging to the state - Onne, Afam, Eleme and Trans-Amadi - to his choice buyer whom they said made the payment in dollars into the state assets sales account.
They added that Amaechi later ordered the payment made in dollars to be diverted to some of his choice bureau de change companies’ accounts.
“It is important to note that some of these companies are not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and none was a licenced Bureau de Change agent on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) list of licenced Bureau de Change agents as at the time of the transactions,” the group said.
The petitioners added that as contained in the document earlier sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independemt Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Amaechi and his aides did not return the converted monies in naira to the state coffers.
“Suffice it to say that from our findings, incontrovertible facts and evidence, with documents to show, those companies were used as conduits to siphon Rivers State commonwealth with impunity,” the group added.
The petitioner also alleged that Amaechi did not only divert state money to his account but also boasted of doing so in a public statement where he was quoted as saying: “If we go and change it (dollars) in a bank, it will be N150 to a dollar but if we go to black market, it will be N175 to a dollar, l said change it in black market.”
They therefore alleged that it was no longer an allegation judging from the former governor’s public statement about how he got the money converted to naira in the black market.
The group also alleged unlawful fraudulent conversion and payment of N4.6 billion to Clinoriv Specialist Hospital and Leisure Limited whereas “the mystery hospital cannot be found anywhere or even a stone laid on the proposed site.”
The group also alleged that Amaechi gave N12.5 per cent interest to Messrs Collect Nigeria Limited instead of five per cent usually given to revenue services companies, saying the company was used as a platform to divert Rivers State’s money.
The group decried Amaechi’s perceived disregard to a constituted authority following his failure to appear before the judicial panel of inquiry set up by Rivers State Government to prove his administration, concluding that Amaechi’s nomination for a ministerial position should not only be withdrawn and rejected but “the Senate should rather ensure his committal to investigation and prosecution so he can rightly defend himself and clear his name to avoid this impending betrayal of trust against the people of Rivers State.”
Speaking on the petition later, Sekibo said: “There is the group that is called the Integrity Group and they believe in transparency, fight against corruption. They believe in good governance and effective utilisation of every fund that is allocated to any state government. They are based in Port Harcourt.
“They went into a research and discovered that over N70 billion was transferred from hard currency account to places outside the country. And a petition on this note was written to the president. I believe the president has not read it. If he has read it, he may not hurriedly nominate Rotimi Amaechi to be a minister. Amaechi is qualified to be a minister but when issues of corruption and fraud are openly x-rayed by the people, it is necessary for the president to take a critical look and examine the allegations from these people whether they are true or not.”
However, indications that the petition may not affect Amaechi’s screening and confirmation emerged when All Progressives Congress (APC) senators attempted to shout down Sekibo immediately he mentioned the petition against him.
In audible voices, the senators chanted “no, no, no” and disrupted proceedings for several minutes until the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, asked Sekibo to submit the petition which he subsequently referred to ethics and privileges committee for investigation.
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