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, June 10.
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 contained in a statement issued by Kelvin Ebiri, media aide to Governor Wike in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Wike said:
Attorney General, you’re at a critical period where people want to know what the State is going to do with the Judiciary Panel of Inquiry after the Supreme Court judgement on it. Luckily, you came at the right time when we have preferred criminal charges against the former governor (Amaechi), Sahara Energy, Tonye Cole and the rest of them.
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.
The Governor further stressed:
So, you are coming at the right time to take over the matter and to make sure it is prosecuted diligently. I don’t want to hear excuses. Let the people see what happened to our money.
The world will see how $50 million Dollar from our account was moved to a company without nothing to show whether there was a business.
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.
He added:
Rivers State government had a judgment against EFCC since 2007. The court said you (EFCC) have no business in the financial transactions of the (Rivers) State. EFCC has been struggling to set aside that judgement until now. They have not even appealed it.
The governor noted that nobody will accept the use of EFCC in such political period to intimidate persons; in order to achieve their skewed political goals.
He further explained;
We are in a political period. People should not think that they will use EFCC to intimidate or manipulate him (Fubara). Nobody will accept that. So you (Attorney General) have to attach the judgment of the candidate against EFCC; and send the right signal to them that we are not people that can be cowed.
