“Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones” proverb.
“Why remove the speck in your brother’s eyes, while a log blocked your own eyes – Bible proverb.
It was because the former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chuibuike Rotimi Amaechi had failed to heed these age-long proverbs, that was responsible for the uncovering of his misdeeds while in office.
Since he became Nigeria’s Transportation Minister, Hon. Amaechi has been thrashing like a wounded snake looking for whom to devour in Rivers State.
Severally, he had taken on the current state government accusing it of a legion of crimes. For instance, the Transportation Minister had alleged that the projects governor Wike was commissioning was executed by his administration.
Amaechi and a band of his supporters had also alleged that the Rivers State Governor was not doing enough with the allocations meant for the State.
Worst of all, there had been a battle for supremacy between Amaechi and the governor, with the Transportation Minister severally attempting to overrun the State with what his supporters, call Federal Might.
Early this year, Amaechi’s convoy clashed with that of the governor when he was going to commission some completed projects in the State. The commissioning coincided with the Minister’s visit to the State. Leveraging on his federal might, Amaechi’s security details had brushed aside Wike’s convoy, leading to one of the governor’s outriders sustaining serious injuries. The incident nearly sparked off row in the State.
Amaechi’s bashing of Rivers people is not limited to Rivers State Government officials only. Sometime early this year, the transportation minister visited Opobo to canvass support for Riverine governor. During the visit, he expected the royal fathers of the LGA to welcome him. Instead of waiting to welcome him and his entourage as envisaged, the royal fathers and their chiefs went for an already scheduled meeting at Government House. The Transportation Minister pilloried the well respected royal fathers, accusing them of going to Government House to beg money from Wike.
Of late, Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe have been on each other’s throats. The former governor has been lambasting Abe for daring to have governorship ambition and working to actualize it.
Abe, the senator who represents Rivers South-East at the Senate is a high profile APC member and had contributed greatly to the building of the party in the State. His effrontery to join the race for Rivers government house under APC has rattled Amaechi who had gone ahead to anoint a billion aire business man, Tonye Cole as the preferred governorship aspirant for the party.
For behaving and acting as if he is saint in the midst of sinners, Amaechi’s misdeeds while in office were now being exposed.
It has now been discovered as confirmed by Justice Omereji Commission of inquiry that the former governor sold Rivers assets to Sahara Energy, a company owned by Tonye Cole, his preferred governorship candidate.
First to expose this deal is Prince Tonye Princewill, who as far back as 2014 alleged in a Premium Times Publication that Amaechi sold Rivers power generating stations, Abonnema Wharf and Olympia Hotel to Sahara Energy and used the proceeds to fund APC.
Governor Wike who had knowledge of the alleged dubious deal had thus warned that he will not allow two business partners to take over Rivers State in 2019.
On Monday September 17, 2018, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah issued a statement insisting that the Transportation Minister must account for $308million (about N112) billion proceeds of the sale Rivers State gas turbine power stations he made towards the end of his administration.
According to Emma Okah, the sale of the power stations and diversion of the proceeds was the reason why Governor Amaechi government abandoned so many uncompleted projects and owed salaries and pensions to workers before he left office in 2015.
The Information Commissioner said, apart from power stations, the former governor also sold the Olympia Hotel and other high value assets under suspicious circumstances.
“The Justice Omereji Commission for Inquiry investigated the spurious sales and indicted the Minister of Transportation and instead of refunding the money, the minister rushed to court to set aside the findings of the commission. He lost at the high court and at the court of Appeal. His appeal to the Supreme Court had been abandoned because for over a year, he has failed to file a brief of argument,” Okah said, noting that this is the reason why the minister is arm twisting his party members in the State and forcing on them their anointed flag-bearer in 2019 governorship polls.
If the former governor had shut his mouth up, these exposures would not have been necessary, which leads to another proverb,’ “The measure you used in giving to others shall be the measure they would use to give to you”.###
