Nigeria: Rivers State Government Claims ownership of the $43million Found in Lagos Apartment

Rivers State Government Claims Ownership of $43m Siezed by EFCC at a Lagos Apartment
Governor, Nyesom Wike yesterday said that the $43 million found in a luxury apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos belongs to the Rivers State Government and gave the federal government a 7-day ultimatum to return it, “failing which Rivers State Government will take legal measures to ensure that it gets back her stolen resources.”

Addressing journalists at the Government House, Port Harcourt last night, he said that investigations by his administration revealed that the money was proceed from the sale of gas turbines by the immediate past governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi.

But Amaechi told Newsmen last night that Wike’s allegations were frivolous and lacked any evidence.

Wike said: “The money in question belongs to the former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. We want to confirm that the house in Ikoyi also belongs to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. “If you recollect in 2015, we said that gas turbines built by former Governor Peter Odili were sold to Sahara Energy, business partners of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi at $319 million.

Публикация от Planet Media (@planetblogmedia) Апр 15 2017 в 12:42 PDT

“That money was used to sponsor the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2015 general election. From the date of sale of the gas turbines to May 29, 2015, the money depleted from $319 million to $204,000. What was stashed at the Ikoyi residence was part of that fund.

“We have facts to prove that the said money belongs to the Rivers State Government. The Federal Government must return our money.” Wike said all the stories being peddled about the money belonging to the National Intelligence Agency were false and mere face-saving measures by the embattled APC federal government.

He said: “As I speak to you, the federal government is so embarrassed that this has happened. All the stories that the money belongs to the NIA are fake”. Wike challenged the federal government to set up a panel of inquiry, which will sit publicly to investigate the money, if it doubted the claim of the Rivers State Government.