Wike says $43m Ikoyi money belongs to Rivers State

Charity Nnaji

Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State has given the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to return the $43million discovered in an apartment in Ikoyi to the state government.

Claiming ownership of the money, Wike said if the FG fails to do so the Rivers State government will take legal measures to ensure that it gets back her stolen resources.

He said “Investigations by the state government revealed that the money was proceed from the sale of gas turbines by the immediate past governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi.”

Addressing journalists at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Friday night, 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 belong 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. That money was used to sponsor the All Progressives Congress for the 2015 general elections.

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”.

He spoke further: “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 are 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 would sit publicly to investigate the money, if it doubted the claim of the Rivers State Government.