Wike denies embezzling N3.5 bn Rivers money

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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Rivers State governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike, has denied the allegation that he embezzled over N3.5 billion in state funds.

The incumbent governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi, accused Mr. Wike of stealing the money, which Mr. Amaechi said was given to the former minister of education to execute some contracts in the state.

Mr. Amaechi said despite receiving the money, Mr. Wike failed to carry out the projects which included the construction of a set of classroom blocks and a road in Rivers State.

In a press statement, Mr. Wike’s spokesperson, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the allegation was false and aimed at taking attention away from the governor’s “failure” to deliver democracy dividends to the people of the state.

Mr. Nwakaudu denied Mr. Wike was awarded any contract by the governor. He asked that proofs of the contracts be made public and presented to the relevant law enforcement agents.

He noted that the nature of the allegation revealed the rot in the management of the state resources and proved that Mr. Amaechi and his associates had squandered state resources through frivolous payments.

“How can a state governor claim that he paid N3.5billion upfront for contracts yet to be executed?” Mr. Nwakudu asked.

“By now, he ought to have realized that the same allegations he peddled did not stop him from losing the state PDP machinery, before he fled into political exile,” Mr. Nwakaudu said.

He alleged that Mr. Amaechi spent N19billion on the campaign of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, in the hopes of being appointed Mr. Buhari’s running mate.

According to Mr. Nwakaudu, Mr. Amaechi was made the director general of the Buhari Campaign Organization, to make up for losing out of the vice presidential candidacy and to further waste Rivers State Government resources in a project that is bound to fail.

“Amaechi is a failed governor whose only legacy is propaganda,” Mr. Nwakaudu said. “He has nothing to show for the trillions of naira that have accrued to Rivers State under his supervision, other than engage in political mind games that have been of no benefit to the state.”