The Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, has kept to his promise to probe the administration of the former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who presided over state affairs as governor from 2007 – 2015.
Daily Independent reports that Wike has told all state permanent secretaries to reveal account details of their spending for the last eighteen months.
Wike alleged that state ministries helped Amaechi’s administration to withdraw money illegally from the state treasury even a day before the May 29 swearing-in date.
Addressing the permanent secretaries during a meeting at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, Wike requested to see “full details and print out of every ministry’s account in the last 18 months. I will not accept any handover note without an accompanying account details.
He said, “The government was coming to a close and some of you were busy signing cheques on 26, 27 and 28 of May. On 28 of May, the Transition Committee called most of you and you refused to cooperate because they told you I will not be sworn-in.”
The governor told those present at the meeting that he will not witch-hunt any civil servant but he will fight anyone who plans to disrupt the flow of his administration.
Wike promised to support civil servants bent on repairing the state as he warned the civil servants not to inter-change their roles with those of politicians. He said back-dated employments and suspicious issuance of certificates of occupancy will be revisited.
Of all the secretaries in attendance, the governor was specific in telling the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Survey to produce the relevant land documents for examination.
Those who attended the meeting included the head of service, Barrister Samuel Longjohn, who led the permanent secretaries to the meeting with the former minister of sports, Dr Tammy Danagogo, the former deputy governor, Tele Ikuru, and the secretary of the Transition Committee, Barrister Frank Owhor.
Governor Wike has been at loggerheads with Amaechi over his alleged mismanagement of state funds. The governor alleged that Amaechi had looted and vandalized the state governor’s residence before he left office.
Amaechi denied those claims saying Wike could not have known what he had in his bedroom before he left office. The former governor also claimed that Wike was planning to siphon billions of naira from the state treasury in the guise of renovating the state house.
Wike had earlier announced that he would stay away from the Government House in Port Harcourt until September because of the vandalisation of the property by the past administration.
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