Wike Begins Probe Of Amaechi

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has begun probing Amaechi as he has directed Permanent Secretaries in the state to produce full account details of their Ministries’ expenditure in the last eighteen months.

Wike also charged  the permanent  secretaries  to  shun partisan politics  as career civil  servants, saying the roles some of  them played in  the  closing  days of the immediate  past administration were politically  motivated.

Addressing  permanent  secretaries  during  a meeting  at Government  House,  Port Harcourt on Tuesday,  Wike regretted that some of the  permanent  secretaries helped the immediate  past administration to illegally  withdraw  funds from the State Government  coffers  even a day to the swearing in of a new governor. 2015.

I want full details and print out of every ministry’s account in the last 18 months. I will not accept any handover note without an accompanying account details.

The government was coming to a close and some of you were busy signing cheques on 26, 27 and 28 of May. On 28 of May, the Transition Committee called most of you and you refused to cooperate because they  told you  I will  not be sworn-in, Wike disclosed.

The  governor  noted  that  he  will  not witch hunt any civil servant irrespective  of his/her role in the electioneering  period . He, however, said that no civil servant would be allowed to sabotage the efforts of  his administration.

He urged the  permanent  secretaries  to  work  with  his administration  to revive  the  state  and put back smile  on  the  faces of  the  people.

Those of you who want to work with us to develop Rivers State will get the necessary support.  You are career civil servants and not politicians.  As civil servants, don’t play the role of politicians, he warned.

The  Rivers  State  Governor  pointed out  that  the  back-dated employments  and indiscriminate  issuance  of certificates  of occupancy by the  immediate  past administration  would be  re-visited.

He specifically  directed the Permanent  Secretary  in  the  Ministry  of  Lands and Survey to produce the relevant  land documents  for examination.

The permanent secretaries were led to the meeting by the Head of Service, Barrister Samuel LongJohn.

Others  who attended  the  meeting  were the former  Minister  of  Sports,  Dr  Tammy  Danagogo, Former  Deputy  governor,  Tele Ikuru  and Secretary  of  the  Transition  Committee,  Barrister Frank Owhor.

It will be recalled on his inauguration day last Friday at the Liberation Stadium, Wike had promised to carry out a forensic auditing of the financial activities of the last government.