Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has been accused of
with-hunting former governor, Rotimi Amaechi..Just last week, an SUV was
retrieved from an ex commissioner in the state and the governor has vowed to retrieve
more..
In a new interview he
explains his battles with Amaechi
Your predecessor
has accused you of a witch-hunt as exemplified in the forceful evacuation of a
vehicle belonging to his former commissioner. Why?
You can recollect that after our inauguration we went into
Government House and we told the whole world, first of all, that there was no
handover note. If there was a handover note that would have guided you to say
look this is where we started and this is where we ended; these were the things
that were given to people as a kind of parting gift or whatever. We later
learnt that the Government House had been looted.
There was just nothing. The last government said that I sent
people to take those things away so that I would award contracts for the
replacement. I said I didn’t need to carry anything away before I award
contracts. So the issue of removing those ones so that I will go and award
contracts is not correct.
Why we are
retrieving vehicles…
Now we got information that most of the Government House
vehicles are scattered here and there. First of all we got information that
most of these vehicles were kept somewhere at Trans Amadi and we sent security
men and we discovered vehicles were parked there.
Security men helped us to recover those vehicles; it was all
over the news. We also got information that a Lexus bulletproof 570 was parked
at the house of a former commissioner. We reported to police that one of the
Governments House vehicles was at the house of the former commissioner and it
was not the vehicle she was using in her office.As a commissioner she can’t use
a bulletproof vehicle, a Lexus for that matter which is not less that N60 – 70
million. So we sent in the security men to go and retrieve the vehicle.
Initially she said on phone that it was given to her as a
parting gift and I said no problem but there should be record to show that this
was given to you as a parting gift but we didn’t get such records because they
didn’t handover anything to anybody.She later said it was her husband that
bought the vehicle. We said if it is your husband that bought it we have no
problem, you can come with the particulars of the vehicle that your husband
bought to prove that the vehicle was your husband’s vehicle.
When I came in here last week I went to Bank of Industry
Building and the former Liaison Officer here, not knowing I was around had one
of the vehicles we were looking for so we sent the ADC and he retrieved the
vehicle and they brought the man and I said ‘Sir why do you have to go away
with government vehicles? Is there any paper that says it was given to you’ and
he said no and I told him to go and get all the papers and as I speak to you
one or two weeks after the papers are yet to be brought here.
They said it was
monetization…
It is not correct, there is nothing like monetisation
policy there. Let me explain what monetization means. As a minister, no vehicle
was bought for me in the ministry.Whatever thing had to be given was built into
your salary, even housing. So where did they buy these cars? I worked there so
how can anybody say that? The point is very clear. If you didn’t handover
anything to me and I am getting information that this is where our vehicles and
properties are am I not in the position to see how I can recover those
vehicles?
On the former governor saying we were out to witch-hunt.
Witch-hunt for what? Is this the first time that official Panel of Enquiry has
been set in Rivers state? When he set the panel of enquiry was it also a
witch-hunt?
Nobody was there to explain anything to us. If he had worked
with the transition committee, his commissioners would have been asked one or
two questions but no transition committee was set up by government.
Even police ceremonial vehicle the governor denied us. We
had to go to Ondo State to borrow Ondo State ceremonial vehicle. Where in this
country will you say that inauguration ceremony wasn’t funded by any state?
Government is not a personal thing. As you leave today the other person will
also leave tomorrow so there is nothing like witch hunting anybody.
