December 15, 2007
When Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was sworn in as Governor of Rivers State on 26 October 2007, in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment of the previous day, he pledged not to take a vengeful path. Amaechi’s promise was in reference to the bank of opponents that stood against him while he was in political wilderness. He also declared that he would strive to reconcile all aggrieved parties and form a government of unity, as there was no victor and no vanquished. “The past administration has not done anything wrong to warrant a probe,†Ogbonna Nwuke, Rivers State Director of Press, quoted the governor as saying.
The new governor promised citizens of the state that public funds would be used judiciously and assured that his government would embark on radical reforms in all areas of development. He has continued to challenge the people to hold him accountable for his action.
Amaechi may yet deliver on the promise to develop the state, but he has gone back on the pledge not to audit Omehia, who was in office for five months. Omehia had made a huge noise about leaving N28 billion in the state account.
All through his stay in office, said Omehia, the state did not receive up to N100 billion in allocation. At the United Nations African Industrial Day celebration in Lagos on 21 November, Omehia said: “Within the period we were in power, we had done a lot of investment in the state. We had started the Eleme Bridge, we had started the Olusegun Obasanjo by-pass, we started the market; we had done up to 60 to 70 percent of these projects and many more. Security, which this administration battled, was one area we had to do a lot. We took over the funding of a steady system in Rivers State. As I speak with you now, we are still expecting over 70 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) from Israel which the Rivers State Government had paid for.â€
The former governor added that while he would not want to go into details, he left about N28 billion in the state coffers!
Omehia’s claim on the amount in government coffers as at 27 October set his successor on edge. A day after the claim was made, Amaechi told the State House of Assembly that his predecessor had lied. “Omehia left N18billion in the project account and N100 million in the Rivers State Government account,†he disclosed.
The governor explained that on 25 October when the Supreme Court ruled, Omehia signed away N18.6 billion out of the N18.7 billion allocated to the state that month and tied them to projects yet to be executed. He described the action as the height of fiscal irresponsibility.
“The monthly allocation of October was N18.6 billion. He (Omehia) signed away N18.6 billion without due process, without any advertisement without a design for jobs and paid 100 percent in most of them. Some, he paid 80 percent and some 60 percent,†Ameachi revealed.
He told the lawmakers that the contract for the construction of Olusegun Obasanjo Link Road to East-West Road was awarded to Bullentine Construction Company and was fully paid for even before the contractor could mobilise to site.
According to Ameachi, Omehia awarded a contract of N6 billion naira to a South African Company, Biken Nigeria Limited, to source for a consultant to design the Port Harcourt Ring Road Project. The firm was also to supervise the construction of the road.
He wondered how his predecessor came by the N6 billion paid upfront to Biken as 7.6 percent of the total cost of the contract when the actual cost of the contract had not been determined.
“As we are talking, it has not been determined what the cost of the contract is, yet he has determined that N6 billion will be 7.6 percent of the contract,â€Amaechi alleged and vowed that he would not allow people to challenge the government through “fictitious, baseless and unfounded press reports.†He also swore to institute legal action against such persons.
Amaechi seized the moment to restate his desire to be different. “Don’t just go to bed and sleep. You should come here and ask me what I have done with the money I have received and I will answer you,†he assured.
Governor Ameachi narrated how some of the prospective investors he met during his trips to Lagos declined coming to Port Harcourt to invest, expressing fears over the security situation in the state and the fiscal irresponsibility of the government.
As claims and counter-claims buzz between the two men, other groups also joined in, calling for a probe of the past administration.
Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), a Port Harcourt-based civil society group, raged at what it described as “the insincerity, lack of integrity, transparency and accountability on the part of office holders in Niger Delta region in general and Rivers State in particular.†In a press statement signed by Neeka N. Nee, its Programme Officer, the group condemned the contracts awarded by Omehia because contractors were fully paid before they commenced work and called on the Rivers State government to urgently publish its financial state for public scrutiny.
The group equally challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) to move in without delay and take seriously “the whistle blowing by the state government as complete and enough invitation to assume investigation in apparent abuse and financial recklessness by the ex-governor, as eloquently declared by the incumbent government.â€
The campaign organisation of Prince Tonye Princewill, Action Congress governorship candidate, has also called for a probe. “With the conflicting statements from both the government that about N100 million was left in the state account by Omehia and Omehia’s recent disclosure that he left about N28 billion in the account, it becomes imperative for Governor Rotimi Amaechi to set up, as matter of urgency, a judicial commission of inquiry to truly ascertain what transpired within the period of Omehia’s tenure in other to move the state forward,†the organisation said in a statement.
A similar call was made by Opunabo lnko-Tariah, publisher of Hard Truth, a Port Harcourt-based tabloid.
Opunabo, in an interview with TheNEWS, said the looting of state funds had become a pattern since 1999, when former governor Peter Odili assumed office. Public officers, Inko-Tariah said, have been encouraged by the failure of the system to bring looters to book.
The publisher advised Governor Amaechi to launch an investigation into Omehia’s claims. And because the issue at stake concerns public funds, he argued, nothing less than a judicial commission of inquiry would impress the people of Rivers State. He condemned Omehia for signing out funds after the Supreme Court ruling that ousted him.
However, Ogbonna Nwuke , Amaechi’s Director of Press Affairs, insisted that his boss had made the issue very clear. “What we know is that N18.7 billion was what Omehia received for the month of October, but N18.6 billion was signed out into projects account. What was left in the coffers was N100 millionâ€.
Nwuke said the books are available for scrutiny by anybody who may want to look at them. He dismissed insinuations that the governor is shielding anybody and described what is going on as quiet stock-taking through verification of assets and liabilities. “We want to be sure of the facts before making comments,†Nwuke said.
Already, the Governor has directed the Attorney-General of the state, Ken Chikere, to institute legal action to recover N6 billion paid to Biken Nigeria Limited. Nwuke added that legal action has also been instituted against another company, whose name he refused to disclose, that was paid huge sums of money in questionable circumstances.
Questions are also being asked on what happened to government vehicles after Omehia was sacked from office. Inko-Tariah alleged that about 28 brand new vehicles were taken away by officials of the Omehia administration.
Currently, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) is under the searchlight of the Rivers State Government through the House of Assembly. The House is investigating a N2billion grant given to the university by the Odili administration.
The grant was for the provision of basic amenities, upgrade of facilities to ensure that courses are accredited by the National Universities Commission.
Barely four days into investigation into how the money was utilised, a curious fire broke out at the university’s bursary department, destroying valuable records and documents.
On a visit to the university, Governor Amaechi directed Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, Rivers State Police Commissioner, to investigate the cause of the fire and bring those behind it to book. The governor also announced the immediate removal of Professor Victor Umuaro as acting Vice Chancellor, as well as dissolving the Governing Council. The Rector of the state Polytechnic, Bori, Professor. Barinene Fakae, was appointed to take over the affairs of the institution and a take-off grant of N1billion was approved for him.
Currently, suspicion reigns in Rivers State and justifiably, too. A recent tour of the 23 council areas by the House Committee on Local Government unearthed a lot of filth.
In its report, the committee, headed by Deputy Speaker, Charles Nwile, wrote: “It is observed that some of the chairmen hide under the allocation for the office of the chairman and miscellaneous expenditure to defraud the councils.â€
Nwile disclosed that the practice is prevalent in Tai, Asari – Toru, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas.
For instance, the committee found out that the allocation of funds to the office of the Chairman of Tai for July 2007 was N34, 896,609.47, while miscellaneous expenditure for the council was put at N10, 259,500.
At Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, the office of the chairman was allocated the sum of N19,947,945.79 in July 2007. Chairman of Omuma local council, Chief Joshua Ukala, could not justify the funds he claimed to have spent on the project execution.
He claimed to have spent N7.5million on a water project, but the committee found no evidence of work during the visit.
At Etche, Mr. Michael Amadi told the committee that he spent N9million to fumigate the secretariat. He also claimed to have expended N15million to repair vandalised electricity cables and raise felled poles.
On account of massive looting in the councils, Apostle Timini Deri, Rivers State Chairman, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), alleged that all the 23 councils owed their staff salaries within the three months Omehia appointed caretaker committees to manage the councils. Deri called on the state government to probe the councils.
The recent assassination attempt on Chief Nyesom Wike, Chief of Staff to Governor Amaechi, is believed to be related to the directive he issued that those who disappeared with government vehicles must return them.
Nwike narrowly escaped death, when assassins allegedly trailed him from Government House to Garrison Junction and shot at his jeep. His driver and Personal Assistant were said to have sustained injuries.
Perhaps, the most sensational is the scandal the Rivers State Police Command is trying to unravel. It involves the theft of N100million cash from a jeep parked by Chief Oris Onyiri, Rivers State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The vehicle was parked in the compound of Oyiri’s step-brother, Ikechukwu. But 17 November, some armed men stormed the compound and held everybody up. By the time they left, it was allegedly discovered that the jeep had been broken into and N100million taken away.
According to a statement signed by one Toba Owa, Ikechukwu’s lawyer, the bandits demanded the keys to Ikechukwu’s car, which was used to cart away the N100million.
The case was reported by Ikechukwu at Ngbuoba Police Station.
Oris Onyiri told this medium that he kept the N100million in the jeep and that it belonged to the PDP.
Given the pressure on Amaechi to probe Omehia, the situation in the state is shaping up to be an interesting one.
The House of Assembly has already invited the caretaker committee chairmen of local councils to account for their stewardship. The House is currently investigating a firm, Barlad Nigeria Limited, hired as consultant to collect revenue for the state.
The new governor promised citizens of the state that public funds would be used judiciously and assured that his government would embark on radical reforms in all areas of development. He has continued to challenge the people to hold him accountable for his action.
Amaechi may yet deliver on the promise to develop the state, but he has gone back on the pledge not to audit Omehia, who was in office for five months. Omehia had made a huge noise about leaving N28 billion in the state account.
All through his stay in office, said Omehia, the state did not receive up to N100 billion in allocation. At the United Nations African Industrial Day celebration in Lagos on 21 November, Omehia said: “Within the period we were in power, we had done a lot of investment in the state. We had started the Eleme Bridge, we had started the Olusegun Obasanjo by-pass, we started the market; we had done up to 60 to 70 percent of these projects and many more. Security, which this administration battled, was one area we had to do a lot. We took over the funding of a steady system in Rivers State. As I speak with you now, we are still expecting over 70 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) from Israel which the Rivers State Government had paid for.â€
The former governor added that while he would not want to go into details, he left about N28 billion in the state coffers!
Omehia’s claim on the amount in government coffers as at 27 October set his successor on edge. A day after the claim was made, Amaechi told the State House of Assembly that his predecessor had lied. “Omehia left N18billion in the project account and N100 million in the Rivers State Government account,†he disclosed.
The governor explained that on 25 October when the Supreme Court ruled, Omehia signed away N18.6 billion out of the N18.7 billion allocated to the state that month and tied them to projects yet to be executed. He described the action as the height of fiscal irresponsibility.
“The monthly allocation of October was N18.6 billion. He (Omehia) signed away N18.6 billion without due process, without any advertisement without a design for jobs and paid 100 percent in most of them. Some, he paid 80 percent and some 60 percent,†Ameachi revealed.
He told the lawmakers that the contract for the construction of Olusegun Obasanjo Link Road to East-West Road was awarded to Bullentine Construction Company and was fully paid for even before the contractor could mobilise to site.
According to Ameachi, Omehia awarded a contract of N6 billion naira to a South African Company, Biken Nigeria Limited, to source for a consultant to design the Port Harcourt Ring Road Project. The firm was also to supervise the construction of the road.
He wondered how his predecessor came by the N6 billion paid upfront to Biken as 7.6 percent of the total cost of the contract when the actual cost of the contract had not been determined.
“As we are talking, it has not been determined what the cost of the contract is, yet he has determined that N6 billion will be 7.6 percent of the contract,â€Amaechi alleged and vowed that he would not allow people to challenge the government through “fictitious, baseless and unfounded press reports.†He also swore to institute legal action against such persons.
Amaechi seized the moment to restate his desire to be different. “Don’t just go to bed and sleep. You should come here and ask me what I have done with the money I have received and I will answer you,†he assured.
Governor Ameachi narrated how some of the prospective investors he met during his trips to Lagos declined coming to Port Harcourt to invest, expressing fears over the security situation in the state and the fiscal irresponsibility of the government.
As claims and counter-claims buzz between the two men, other groups also joined in, calling for a probe of the past administration.
Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), a Port Harcourt-based civil society group, raged at what it described as “the insincerity, lack of integrity, transparency and accountability on the part of office holders in Niger Delta region in general and Rivers State in particular.†In a press statement signed by Neeka N. Nee, its Programme Officer, the group condemned the contracts awarded by Omehia because contractors were fully paid before they commenced work and called on the Rivers State government to urgently publish its financial state for public scrutiny.
The group equally challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) to move in without delay and take seriously “the whistle blowing by the state government as complete and enough invitation to assume investigation in apparent abuse and financial recklessness by the ex-governor, as eloquently declared by the incumbent government.â€
The campaign organisation of Prince Tonye Princewill, Action Congress governorship candidate, has also called for a probe. “With the conflicting statements from both the government that about N100 million was left in the state account by Omehia and Omehia’s recent disclosure that he left about N28 billion in the account, it becomes imperative for Governor Rotimi Amaechi to set up, as matter of urgency, a judicial commission of inquiry to truly ascertain what transpired within the period of Omehia’s tenure in other to move the state forward,†the organisation said in a statement.
A similar call was made by Opunabo lnko-Tariah, publisher of Hard Truth, a Port Harcourt-based tabloid.
Opunabo, in an interview with TheNEWS, said the looting of state funds had become a pattern since 1999, when former governor Peter Odili assumed office. Public officers, Inko-Tariah said, have been encouraged by the failure of the system to bring looters to book.
The publisher advised Governor Amaechi to launch an investigation into Omehia’s claims. And because the issue at stake concerns public funds, he argued, nothing less than a judicial commission of inquiry would impress the people of Rivers State. He condemned Omehia for signing out funds after the Supreme Court ruling that ousted him.
However, Ogbonna Nwuke , Amaechi’s Director of Press Affairs, insisted that his boss had made the issue very clear. “What we know is that N18.7 billion was what Omehia received for the month of October, but N18.6 billion was signed out into projects account. What was left in the coffers was N100 millionâ€.
Nwuke said the books are available for scrutiny by anybody who may want to look at them. He dismissed insinuations that the governor is shielding anybody and described what is going on as quiet stock-taking through verification of assets and liabilities. “We want to be sure of the facts before making comments,†Nwuke said.
Already, the Governor has directed the Attorney-General of the state, Ken Chikere, to institute legal action to recover N6 billion paid to Biken Nigeria Limited. Nwuke added that legal action has also been instituted against another company, whose name he refused to disclose, that was paid huge sums of money in questionable circumstances.
Questions are also being asked on what happened to government vehicles after Omehia was sacked from office. Inko-Tariah alleged that about 28 brand new vehicles were taken away by officials of the Omehia administration.
Currently, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) is under the searchlight of the Rivers State Government through the House of Assembly. The House is investigating a N2billion grant given to the university by the Odili administration.
The grant was for the provision of basic amenities, upgrade of facilities to ensure that courses are accredited by the National Universities Commission.
Barely four days into investigation into how the money was utilised, a curious fire broke out at the university’s bursary department, destroying valuable records and documents.
On a visit to the university, Governor Amaechi directed Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, Rivers State Police Commissioner, to investigate the cause of the fire and bring those behind it to book. The governor also announced the immediate removal of Professor Victor Umuaro as acting Vice Chancellor, as well as dissolving the Governing Council. The Rector of the state Polytechnic, Bori, Professor. Barinene Fakae, was appointed to take over the affairs of the institution and a take-off grant of N1billion was approved for him.
Currently, suspicion reigns in Rivers State and justifiably, too. A recent tour of the 23 council areas by the House Committee on Local Government unearthed a lot of filth.
In its report, the committee, headed by Deputy Speaker, Charles Nwile, wrote: “It is observed that some of the chairmen hide under the allocation for the office of the chairman and miscellaneous expenditure to defraud the councils.â€
Nwile disclosed that the practice is prevalent in Tai, Asari – Toru, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas.
For instance, the committee found out that the allocation of funds to the office of the Chairman of Tai for July 2007 was N34, 896,609.47, while miscellaneous expenditure for the council was put at N10, 259,500.
At Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, the office of the chairman was allocated the sum of N19,947,945.79 in July 2007. Chairman of Omuma local council, Chief Joshua Ukala, could not justify the funds he claimed to have spent on the project execution.
He claimed to have spent N7.5million on a water project, but the committee found no evidence of work during the visit.
At Etche, Mr. Michael Amadi told the committee that he spent N9million to fumigate the secretariat. He also claimed to have expended N15million to repair vandalised electricity cables and raise felled poles.
On account of massive looting in the councils, Apostle Timini Deri, Rivers State Chairman, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), alleged that all the 23 councils owed their staff salaries within the three months Omehia appointed caretaker committees to manage the councils. Deri called on the state government to probe the councils.
The recent assassination attempt on Chief Nyesom Wike, Chief of Staff to Governor Amaechi, is believed to be related to the directive he issued that those who disappeared with government vehicles must return them.
Nwike narrowly escaped death, when assassins allegedly trailed him from Government House to Garrison Junction and shot at his jeep. His driver and Personal Assistant were said to have sustained injuries.
Perhaps, the most sensational is the scandal the Rivers State Police Command is trying to unravel. It involves the theft of N100million cash from a jeep parked by Chief Oris Onyiri, Rivers State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The vehicle was parked in the compound of Oyiri’s step-brother, Ikechukwu. But 17 November, some armed men stormed the compound and held everybody up. By the time they left, it was allegedly discovered that the jeep had been broken into and N100million taken away.
According to a statement signed by one Toba Owa, Ikechukwu’s lawyer, the bandits demanded the keys to Ikechukwu’s car, which was used to cart away the N100million.
The case was reported by Ikechukwu at Ngbuoba Police Station.
Oris Onyiri told this medium that he kept the N100million in the jeep and that it belonged to the PDP.
Given the pressure on Amaechi to probe Omehia, the situation in the state is shaping up to be an interesting one.
The House of Assembly has already invited the caretaker committee chairmen of local councils to account for their stewardship. The House is currently investigating a firm, Barlad Nigeria Limited, hired as consultant to collect revenue for the state.
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