The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, has been directed by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike to begin diligent prosecution of the alleged illegal financial dealings involving the immediate past governor, Rotimi Amaechi, Mr. Tonye Cole, Sahara Energy, and others over the sale of state assets.
Wike gave the order after swearing in three new commissioners in the Executive Chamber of Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor has been appointed as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Isaac Kamalu has been appointed as Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and Dr. George-Kelly, Dakorinama Alabo has been appointed as Commissioner for Works and Special Projects.
This was said by Kelvin Ebiri, Governor Wike’s media aide, in a statement released in Port Harcourt on Friday.
“Attorney General, we’re at a critical juncture where people are wondering what the State will do with the Judiciary Panel of Inquiry after the Supreme Court’s decision.” Fortunately, you arrived just as we were preparing to file criminal charges against the former governor (Amaechi), Sahara Energy, Tonye Cole, and the rest,” Wike remarked.
He stated that Rivers residents and the rest of the world needed to know what happened to the $50 million that vanished from the state’s account with no record of where it was spent.
“So you’ve arrived at the ideal time to take over the case and see to it that it’s properly prosecuted.” I’m not interested in hearing excuses. Allow the public to see what happened to our funds.
“The world will witness how $50 million dollars from our account was transferred to a firm with no evidence of a business,” the governor stated.
Meanwhile, Wike has ordered Adangor to submit a vehement protest letter to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission over the persecution of State PDP governorship candidate Siminalaye Fubara.
Wike said the protest letter would be based on the fact that EFCC officers had recently attempted to harass and threaten Fubara, who had served as the Accountant General of Rivers State before becoming the PDP governorship candidate.
The governor told the EFCC that the era of impunity and flagrant defiance of the law is ended, and that his administration will not tolerate such behavior.
The attempt to harass the state PDP candidate, he said, will not be tolerated, and the state government will not hesitate to charge the EFCC with contempt.
Wike noted that the Rivers state administration had already obtained a court order prohibiting the EFCC from investigating the state’s finances or officers.
He added that the PDP governorship candidate had also obtained a judgment against the EFCC to enforce his fundamental rights, which had not been overturned.
“Since 2007, the Rivers State government has had a judgment against the EFCC.” The court ruled that you (EFCC) had no place in the (Rivers) State’s financial transactions. Until now, the EFCC has been unable to overturn that decision. “They haven’t even filed an appeal,” Wike said.
Nobody will condone the deployment of the EFCC in such a political period to scare people in order to achieve their warped political goals, according to the governor.
“We are living in a political era. People should not believe that the EFCC will be used to threaten or control him (Fubara). That will not be tolerated. So you (Attorney General) need to attach the candidate’s judgment against the EFCC and send the proper message to them that we are not easily intimidated,” he added.