By Jimitota Onoyume, Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice George Omereji, has concluded its public sitting and it is expected to turn in its recommendations to the state government soon.

The commission was inaugurated on June 19 by Governor Nyesom Wike to probe the alleged sale of assets of the state and unravel details of some actions of the former government relating to financial expenditures.

Wike had, at several fora, insisted that the commission was set up to seek clarifications on actions of the former government because his predecessor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, failed to give him handover notes which should have contained actions of his government on matters such as the status of the power assets of the state, the proposed Justice Adolphus Karibi Whyte Hospital, Olympia Hotel and so on.

Meanwhile, Amaechi approached a High Court in Port Harcourt to stop the commission. But Justice Simeon Amadi, in his ruling on the former governor’s suit, said the commission should go ahead with the investigation, noting that it was not looking into the private life of Amaechi but his activities as governor and, to that extent, as they affected Rivers people.

During its inaugural sitting on August 24, the Chairman of the commission, Justice Omereji, assured that the body was not out to witch hunt but on a fact-finding mission. He promised those to appear before it fair hearing,

But Amaechi vowed not to appear before the inquiry, insisting it was instituted to nail him. The former governor spoke when he addressed his associates in Port Harcourt, saying the commission was not properly constituted.

“Why I don’t want to appear before the panel is because the panel is illegal. There is a law on how to set up administrative panel. The governor (Wike) has not complied with the law; when he does, I will appear. What he said to the panel is `go and find him guilty’ and you say I should appear “, he said.

Amaeachi and Wike
Amaeachi and Wike
He earlier echoed this stand in a press statement issued by his media officer where, among other things, he described the Chairman of the commission as a foe who was carefully chosen by Wike to indict him.

“And to do this dirty job, he (Wike) got Justice G.O Omereji, a man who is well known to harbour a long held, extreme anger, hatred and animosity against former Governor Amaechi and Justice Omereji has never disguised this stance and disposition towards Amaechi . How can we now expect Justice Omereji to be fair to Amaechi, the person he passionately loathes with extreme malice and venom?”,the statement read.

When confronted, Omereji said, as a judge, he was not trained to respond to accusations on the pages of newspapers. Continuing, he said the proper thing the former governor should have done was to appear before the commission with his facts. He also dismissed the allegation by Amaechi that he was his foe.

“As a High Court Judge, I don’t have any issue with anybody, including the former governor. I am not a serving judge. I am a disciplined judge and, by my profession, you don’t respond to allegations, criticisms on the pages of newspapers. It will look like judges have started descending to arena”, he stated.

“If there is anybody alleging that the former governor and I are foes, the person should come to the commission and say, `My lord, you are not in a position to sit here’, then I will respond. To respond on the pages of newspapers is not our style. I am a disciplined judge, a graduate of the University of Lagos. In any case, it is me and others sitting there. Let him come before the commission to confront me, then I will respond.

“The commission will be highly objective based on the submission by the parties. Most of the things in the commission are documentary. You will see approval from the former governor, disbursement by committees.

“The commission is a place to present your account for all to see. The media will be there. He will be there for him to present his position and it will be seen by all”.

Wike, who also dismissed as untrue the allegation by Amaechi that he set up the commission to witch hunt, recalled that when the former governor set up his commission, headed by Justice Kayode Eso, in 2007, former Governor Peter Odili and Abiye Sekibo, who had misgivings about the commission, still testified before it to prove their innocence.

During cross examination of the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Otonyetarie Otonoye, and Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr Chijioke Amadi, by the counsel to the commission, Dr. Zachaeus Adango, it was alleged that 23 council Chairmen under the Amaechi administration posed as heads of cooperative societies and registered the societies to share three of the four billion Naira loan secured from the Central Bank Commercial Credit Agricultural Scheme for the development of the agric sector.

The witnesses said they were shocked to hear the names of those who benefitted from the money alleged signed out as grant to the farmers cooperative societies.

According to Mr. Amadi, chairman of a committee set up by a former Commissioner for Agriculture under the Amaechi regime, Mr Emma Chinda, his committee was only handed names to disburse the money with no information on the officials of the cooperative societies.

“Hon Commissioner gave us the list and said this cooperative should get this and that. We only wrote letter of instruction to the banks”,Amadi said.

“It was not part of our duty to ascertain if the cooperatives actually existed. It was also not our duty to know the officers of the cooperative societies.

I don’t know whether they were politicians or genuine farmers because the list was coming from my boss. I am not aware of the persons or officials of the cooperative societies. I only dealt with the names of the cooperative societies.”

The former Agriculture Commissioner, Mr Chinda, and the council chairmen, who allegedly benefitted from the grant, did not appear before the commission, but they sent a counsel, Ken Atsuwete, to state why they should not.

On the monorail project of the Amaechi administration, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Mrs Stella Ebere-Wigwe, and the Head, Safety and Aviation Department in the ministry, Saya Antioch, alleged that over half of the N50 billion earmarked for the completion of the 21.7 Km was expended on 2.1 kilometres, representing only phase one.

They said that even the work on the phase one was only about 85 percent completed with the N33.9 billion sunk into it.

Ebere-Wigwe told the commission that there was no way the balance of N6.1 billion left from the N50 billion set aside for the project could finish the job.

“I think this is not justifiable”, she said.

The Permanent Secretary explained that the phase one of the project was supposed to have six rails and six trains but there were only one rail track and rail.

According to her, the other five trains and rails were still with the manufacturers overseas because they had not been paid for. She stated that the single train to run on a single rail track was a departure from the original concept of the monorail project.

During cross examination from the counsel to the commission, Adangor, Ebere-Wigwe said though she assumed office this year, she could not understand why the former government went for an elevated monorail system that had long been phased out in Europe.

When asked to advise if the project should be continued, she said her response will be yes and no. According to her, she will want the phase one to be completed but, on a second thought, government could suspend the project for now since it was facing challenges of fund.

Head of Safety and Aviation, Antioch, who was also cross examined, said it was clear the former government went for the elevated system that had been phased out for showmanship.

He said part of the problem with the elevated monorail system was insecurity the pillars posed to passengers.

On his part, the Managing Director, Arcus Gibbs Nigeria Limited, consulting firm for the project, Mr Wiero Vogelzang, suggested to the commission, on technical grounds, that the state government should endeavour to complete the phase one of the project, saying it will gulp about N6 billion.

He said the N50 billion quoted for the completion of the entire phase one of the project initially was not realistic.

In a related development, Wike has said he will implement every aspect of the Omereji commission report without any fear or favour.

The governor spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Opunabo Nko-Tariah.

But will the outcome of the commission go the way of the previous ones set up by the Amaechi government?

The answer appears to be neither here nor there as the recommendations of the Justice Kayode Eso Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Prof Odinkalu probe panel on political violence covering the period of the last general elections were not implemented.

CC: lalasticlala

://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/wike-vs-amaechi-anxiety-as-rivers-probe-panel-winds-up/

Nigerians rejects to be confused by this whole political bruhahas..






















Meanwhile Shekau is now rendered homeless in nigeria by our troups

Ameachi is going, going, gone to Aso rock Kirikiri