Amechi Sues River State Over Corruption Allegations
The former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi has dragged the Rivers state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and the state chairman, Felix Obuah to court over what he claims are false allegations of foreign accounts ownership and funds embezzlement. He claimed he did not stash Rivers state money in any foreign account, neither does he own any foreign account. He claimed every alleglevelled against him were false and unfounded.
Accusation was rife during the just concluded presidential campaign, which brought in Muhammadu Buhari as the President, that the former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amechi was the main financier of the APC presidential elections. It was also publicized widely that the money spent on Muhammadu Buhari's election bid was gotten from the coffers of the state.
It would be recalled that in a press statement from the PDP, Rivers State chapter on August 6 and August 21, 2015, the party had alleged that Amaechi stole $757million or N80billion of Rivers State public funds and stashed them away in an account in his name in Bancorp Bank in Minnesota, United States of America.
The PDP also alleged that Amaechi had embezzled millions of dollars of Rivers State money and stashed the money in other foreign accounts in his name, including a bank in Switzerland. The PDP claimed that the various Amaechi foreign accounts were revealed and blown open by Christiane Amanpour of Cable News Network CNN. The PDP also claimed the former governor spent state's funds on financing Muhammadu Buhari’s election, hence the indebtedness the state is presently experiencing.
The state government had insisted it could not meet with its obligations to the people of the state due to the empty condition in which it met the state purse. The government insisted the former governor, Rotimi Amechi squandered state funds and had left the state in the sorry state in which it is today.
The PDP went further to claim that Bancorp Bank, Minnesota had written to President Muhammadu Buhari that part of the funds was to purchase a residence for Amaechi in America and that they intend to return the stolen funds to Nigeria in support of the anti-corruption stance of the president.
In a suit filed before an Abuja High court, FCT, Amaechi stated that each of the said malicious publications by the Defendants, PDP, Felix Obuah and two others, “are untrue, false, motivated by ill-will and without any foundation in truth.
He further stated that the Defendants made the said libelous publications after the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) failed the Presidential election and with a view to rubbishing him in the eyes of right thinking members of the society and the persons to whom the said libelous publications have been made.”
In his statement of claims in the suit, Amaechi stated that he did not steal the sum of $757million or N80 billion of Rivers State public funds and did not stash them away in Bancorp Bank in Minnesota in United States of America or stashed any State public funds in Switzerland.