The corruption case instituted by the Rivers State Government against its former governor and Nigeria’s minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi doesn’t look it is going away anytime soon.
The Trent has exclusively obtained the White Paper indicating Mr. Amaechi in a corruption investigation. The report places the value of fraudulent dealings by Amaechi as governor at $400 million (N96 billion). The paper also indicts Mr. Tonye Cole, managing director of Sahara Energy Plc, for questionably dealings with the Rivers government during Amaechi’s tenure.
Mr. Cole is named in the questionable sale of four gas turbines belonging to the Rivers State government and the 40-year concessioning deal of Olympia Hotel for the sum of $86,250 per year. In the document, Mr. Cole’s company, NG-Power HPS Limited is indicted for receiving a payment of $53 million as repayment for a non-existent loan from the Rivers State Government.
Amaechi is also indicted in the corrupt disbursement of N2 billion designated for Agric Credit loans.
Amaechi has been in the news for the past seven months, ever since he left office, for alleged mismanagement of funds, abuse of executive powers, cronyism, and outright fraud during his tenure as Rivers State Governor from 2007 to 2015. His nomination as a minister under President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was almost scuttled by these allegations of abuse of office and public trust.
Amaechi, who is one of Buhari’s two ‘Super Ministers’ has been identified by stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the chief financier of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign. In a televised event mid-2015, it was announced that Amaechi contributed 80% of the funds used to bring Buhari to office as President. In addition, Amaechi is praised by APC leaders for single-handedly funding the governorship campaigns of at least 5 APC governors including that of former Speaker, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
The Rivers State Government set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate Amaechi’s tenure as governor. The Judicial Commission was chaired by Honourable Justice George Omereji and it submitted its report in October 2015.
In order to stall his persecution as recommended by the Judicial Commission, Amaechi swiftly filed a case against the government. The particulars of the case are as follow: CA/PH/342/2015: ROTIMI AMAECHI V GOV. OF RIVERS STATE. Riki Tarfa, SAN, is Mr. Amaechi’s lawyer.
Below is the white paper
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