Key positions: How Wike stopped Amaechi

After nearly three months of suspense and anxiety, former Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi had his hopes of becoming the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) dashed on Thursday as he lost the position to Engineer Babachir David Lawal, a technocrat from Adamawa State. Amaechi could also not get the position of Chief of Staff to the President, the second position he had expected to clinch in the new administration.

The development has triggered speculations that Amaechi may have fallen out of favour with the Presidency following the series of corruption allegations hanging around his neck. Some political pundits had projected that Amaechi, having successfully served as the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign, the team that sold Buhari’s candidature to the electorate and won the election deserved to be rewarded with one of the two plum positions in the new regime.

But Amaechi’s successor, Chief Nyesom Wike, had on assumption of office as the Governor of Rivers State, inaugurated a seven-man Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Amaechi administration, a move Amaechi and his loyalists have vehemently rejected. The probe said to be in consonance with Section 2 (1) of the Commission of Inquiry Law of Rivers State, appears to have wrecked so much havoc and exposed the underbelly of Amaechi to an extent where he had become a political liability.

The commission, headed by Justice George Emereji, was empowered to look into the circumstances surrounding the sale of some valued assets of the state and other related matters with a view to finding out the legality of such transactions. In specific terms, the panel was charged with the responsibility of investigat-ing the sale of Omoku 150 MW Gas Turbine; Afam 360 MW Gas Turbine; Trans- Amadi 136 Gas Turbine and Eleme 75 MW gas Turbine. The panel was also asked to conduct investigations into the withdrawal and expenditure of the sum of N96 billion which accrued from the Rivers Reserve Fund.

There were allegations that the fund was expended without compliance with Rivers State Reserve Fund Law N0. 2 of 2008. In addition, the Commission of Inquiry was expected to probe into the non-execution of the contract for the construction of Justice Adolphus Karibi- Whyte Specialist Hospital even after the sum of $39,200,000 was paid to the contractor. Although the commission was given one month to conclude its assignment, the revelations that have emanated from its proceedings so far have been damning on the integrity and political future of Amaechi.

Saturday Telegraph learnt that on completion of the assignment, the recommendation of the probe panel would determine whether Amaechi would be reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or any other antigraft agency for prosecution.

It was gathered that President Muhamnadu Buhari having vowed not to appoint anyone tainted with corruption into his administration, have been monitoring the probe with keen interest in order to take his own decision. Beyond the probe, Buhari was said to had also monitored the open altercations between Amaechi and Wike which had made headlines in the mass media, a phenomenon that has also added to the collateral damage on Amaechi’s personality and political future.

Saturday Telegraph investigations also revealed that the sane fate may have befallen other top contenders for the same appointment such as a former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who has been facing a barrage of allegations over his tenure as governor.