Some former commissioners who served under the ROTIMI AMAECHI Administration in Rivers State have come out to make clarifications over the report of the Justice GEORGE OMERIJI Panel of Inquiry.

Some former commissioners who served under the ROTIMI AMAECHI Administration in Rivers State have come out to make clarifications over the report of the Justice GEORGE OMERIJI Panel of Inquiry. Former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, WORGU BOMS led other members of the past cabinet at a media briefing in Port Harcourt over the weekend.
WORGU BOMS cited comments by Governor NYESOM WIKE and Justice OMERIJI leading up to the setting up of the panel, which he said points to the fact that that the report of investigation was already predetermined. BOMS noted that government is a continuum and policies are determined by the administration of the day. He said decisions of the State Executive Council are implemented by Ministries, Departments and Agencies and all records are domiciled in the ministries. The former Attorney General maintained that all former commissioners had each submitted handover notes to the Secretary to State Government as well as their respective Permanent Secretaries.
WORGU BOMS said every record required by the successor government is available with the MDA’s. He faulted the claim of missing fifty-three billion naira from the Rivers State Reserve Fund between 2014 and May 2015. BOMS recalled that the ROTIMI AMAECHI Administration had decided to set up the Reserve Fund for the rainy days as a mark of prudence, and had to fall back on it to meet up with the shortfall of revenue from the national treasury. The former commissioner equally discountenanced the claim by the Panel that the sum of Ninety-Six Billion was withdrawn from the Fund by the Amaechi Administration. He emphasized that every withdrawal from the Fund complied with the extant controls governing the Fund.
BOMS said following severe shortfalls in expected revenues, the Administration made three withdrawals in 2014 in line with the governing law and the proceeds were applied for the purposes of government. He noted that the total savings by the State over the life of the Administration was under Thirty-Nine Billion Naira only.