Rivers State Government on Friday warned the immediate past governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, a former military administrator of the state, Brigadier General Antony Ukpo (rtd) and several other former officials of the state to return N97 billion public funds they allegedly stole.
The money is said to have accrued to the state from the sale of government assets, including four gas turbines.
Already, state Attorney-General/ Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Chinwe Aguma,(SAN) has been directed by the state government to commence the process of prosecuting Amaechi and two others for what it called the sale of the gas turbines without due process.
Similarly, Governor Nyesom Wike has ordered the suspension of permanent secretaries and other top civil servants indicted by the Justice George Omereji Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the sale of valued assets of the state by the immediate past administration.
Speaking on the Commission’s report, Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Emma Okah, said Amaechi would be prosecuted along with former Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Chamberlain Peterside and his counterpart in the Ministry of Power, Sir Augustine Nwokocha.
Okah said that apart from prosecuting Amaechi and others, the Attorney-General is also expected to commence the recovery of funds realized from the sale of the gas turbines from the former governor and Nwokocha.
He said: “The first term of reference (of the Judicial Commission) is to ascertain the sale of the Omoku 150 megawatts gas turbine; Afam 360 megawatts gas turbine; Trans-Amadi 136 megawatts gas turbine and the Eleme 75 megawatts gas turbine by the administration of former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
“The commission finds as a fact that the sale of 70% equity from the First Independent Power Limited in Omoku gas turbine, Trans-Amadi gas turbine, Afam Phase I gas turbine and Eleme gas turbine, has been very difficult to justify. They have therefore recommended the review of sale of the power assets and the government of Rivers State has accepted that recommendation.
“The commission recommends that the former governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, along with his former commissioners for Finance and Power, Dr. Chamberlain Peterside and Augustine Nwokocha, respectively, should be held to account for their roles in the sales of the power generation assets of First Independent Power Limited and the disbursement of the proceeds there from.
“Government accepts this recommendation and directs the office of the Honourable Attorney-General and commissioner for Justice, to promptly set in motion the appropriate machinery for the recovery of the proceeds of the sale of the gas turbines from the former governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, and every other persons implicated in the commission’s report.”
Okah stated that the state government intends to recover N3billion from former Commissioner for Agriculture, Emma Chinda, which was earmarked as agricultural loans to farmers.
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