An Integrity Group (IG) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Independent Corrupt Practices and other offences Commission (ICPC), to probe Nigeria’s Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amechi.
The group made the call in line with President Mohammadu Buhari’s war against corruption and other illicit practices, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, on Sunday, January 31, by its coordinator, Livingstone Wechie, alleged that Amaechi, the immediate past governor of Rivers state embezzled over 70 billion generated from secret sales of state owned assets under his watch as Governor.
The group claimed that it has documents to prove that the former governor, was liable as contained in its first petition to President Buhari, EFCC and ICPC since August 2015.
The group wondered that if Amaechi has ordered the probe on corruption in the various Agencies under his Ministry, “we hold that Rotimi Amaechi has no right whatsoever to talk of corruption probe, as corruption cannot probe corruption.”
IG further alleged that the former governor who had admissibly confessed and not denied these allegations has neither instituted any legal action in any court against his indictment by the Justice George Otakpo Omereji’s Commission of Inquiry Report as contained in the Government white paper nor the Integrity Group documentary evidence-backed-up petition as confirmed by the Nigerian Senate.
“The credibility of Mr President’s war on corruption through the EFCC and ICPC is in the balance, and will continually suffer grave casualty as long as the likes of Rotimi Amaechi and others with the cloak of corruption, who put Rivers state for sale with impunity, continue to boast and walk freely under federal covers to the dismay of the world.
“It is therefore on this premise that we totally agree with the representations made by the Rivers state Commissioner of information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, that the Rivers state government should recover stolen funds and fight corruption at all levels,” the group said.
The group also called on the state’s government to quickly embark on the arrest and prosecution of all those accused by the Justice Omereji panel Report as contained in the Government White paper, particularly the former local government caretaker chairmen who allegedly embezzled and ripped the state and poor farmers of the Agriculture loans.
“As champions of this struggle on probity, we shall not allow Rivers people to continually suffer the tragic loss of our common wealth occasioned by the actions of the Amaechi administration ostensibly on our behalf as we shall spare no legal option towards achieving this end because the fight against corruption in Rivers state and the loot recovery process has just began,” the group said.