Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past Minister of Transportation says Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike does not have the constitutional powers to prosecute him over the alleged N96billion fraudulent sale of state assets.
Amaechi, a former governor of the state and Wike’s predecessor had challenged the setting up of a seven-man probe panel against him but the Supreme Court dismissed it for lack of merit, saying the State Government has powers to set up a panel of inquiry to probe any financial dealings in the sale of the assets but not to try Amaechi.
Owing to the Apex Court ruling, Wike directed the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to kickstart the prosecution of Amaechi and others involved in the deal.
Amaechi while speaking with journalists at the All Progressives Congress (APC) state secretariat in Port Harcourt on Saturday, said Wike only has powers to set up a panel and not to prosecute him or anyone.
According to him, the job of the probe panel is to gather information and pass the information to either the Police or the anti-graft agencies, adding that the Police have not invited him for questioning over the report of the probe panel.
He further said that he also has not gotten an invitation from both the ICPC and the EFCC.
“I hope that the governor has good lawyers. The Supreme Court said in their judgement that he has powers to set up a panel and the job of the panel is to gather information,” Amaechi said.
“That after gathering the information, they should pass the information to either ICPC, Police or EFCC. The Police have not invited me, ICPC has not invited me and EFCC has not invited me.
“Secondly, there is what we call fair hearing. At that point when they will invite me, it is called a fair hearing because they will hear my own side of the story. You have not heard my own side of the story.
“You have not heard my own side of the story and you went to Court to do what. Something must be giving you confidence.
“It is not about being served by the Court, the Supreme Court said before you go ahead, you have to send it to the investigating authorities and it is when they finish the investigation that they will decide whether the matter will come to Court or not. You have not done any of those things and you are in Court. So, what will you be telling the Court.
“Two, everything that was done was done transparently. There was an agency called the Public Procurement Agency and all those things passed through.
“We shouldn’t be talking about an issue that is before the Court. Let the Court decide. Tonye Cole didn’t act in his personal capacity, he represented Sahara Energy. You know this is political because they are afraid”.
