Following the three letters written by the past immediate governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, to the Senate telling the upper chamber why his screening should not be stopped, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the letter stressing that it lacks merit and logic.
It would be recalled that the state governor, Nyesom Wike, has released a white paper on the report of the judicial commission of inquiry which indicted Amaechi for the investigation of his administration on the sale of valued assets and other related matters.
The state chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah, made the assertion in reaction to the letter Amaechi sent to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Vanguard reports.
Obuah in a statement signed by his special adviser on media and publicity, Jerry Needam, stated Amaechi’s letter to the Senate president is an attempt to ignore the white paper report, undermine the crusade against corruption and expose President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption as partisan and targeted at only members of the opposition and perceived enemies.
His words: “The invitation and interrogation of the Senate Minority Leader, former governor of Akwa Ibom State, and one of the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Godswill Akpabio, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, while Mr Rotimi Amaechi, indicted for corruption is freely going about lobbying to become a minister, is a pointer that Buhari’s fight against corruption is targeted at the opposition and perceived enemies.
“The monumental fraud discovered by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry and huge revenue lost when Amaechi was governor of Rivers state cannot be ignored.
“Amaechi has no defense to allegations of fraud against him as contained in the Government White Paper. He was invited and he failed to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry.”
The party noted that the combined provisions of sections 66 (1) (h) and 147 (5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, clearly render the former governor unqualified for a ministerial position.
In the statement, the PDP admonished Amaechi to seek interpretation of the relevant sections of the constitution from his lawyers.
PDP stressed that the combination of the sections and subsections which he quoted automatically disqualify
The party said: “The combined effect of sections 66 (1) (h) and 147 (5) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended and read together disqualifies Rotimi Amaechi from becoming a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Therefore, Amaechi’s letter to the Senate President should be disregarded. It lacks merit and contradicted the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
“The letter to the Senate President further makes mockery of Amaechi and amounts to desperation and glorification of corruption.”