…says it’s a scam, demands evidence
The apparent breakthrough of more than doubling the internally generated revenue (IGR) of Rivers State from N13 billion to N27 billion per month as declared by Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State has been declared a scam by the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the Nyesom Wike-backed Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, was on Monday countered the State’s revenue figure as declared by Governor Fubara, describing the pronouncement as deceitful and unacceptable.
Read also: I met N13bn IGR per month but we are now seeing N27bn – Fubara
Addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt Monday, Okocha, who was appointed by the National Executive Committee when Bola Tinubu took over as Nigeria’s President, replacing the dissolved Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi-backed elected Executive Committee of the party, said it was strange that such huge revenue could be grossed in a war-like situation being experienced in the State at present.
Okocha, an former Personal Assistant to Wike when Wike was a Local Council Chairman, said he chose to speak out because the airwaves had been inundated with news about Governor Sim Fubara’s pronouncement on N27 billion monthly IGR made by Rivers State Government as against N13 billion maximum, which the governor said, he met when he was sworn in as governor of the State.
“I saw this in one of the WhatsApp platforms where the governor was addressing the Senate Committee on Refineries that visited him”, he said.
Okocha, the last Chief of Staff to Amaechi but who fell off with him and joined the Wike’s camp, said, “As a party (APC), we have been studying the governor’s statement against the indices, the situation on ground, and all the economists we have consulted, with everything they have told us; we do not see how it matches. These do not agree with the governor’s declaration.
“We are constrained to believe that the governor has again attempted to concoct untruth or lies to Rivers people. It is unimaginable that we are in a state of war, economic miasma, economic crunch, and in the circumstance, somebody says he has doubled IGR.”
He however asked the governor to explain if within the period mentioned more industries came to Rivers State and they generated more money.
“This points to issues we have continued to raise concerning cluelessness. Should the governor take an avenue different from what is on hand? Should he talk about something when the occasion is another? He announced his IGR while the committee is not about economics (economy) or finance. They came to talk about the refinery.
“We (APC) keep telling him to tell the press (Rivers people) what his economic thrust is. In one year, nothing has happened. This is the worst year in the history of Rivers State.
“We have continued to urge him to tell the stakeholders what his policies were and take questions. Telling the National Assembly committee that came here for another mission about your IGR is funny. Your first 100 days was a sham. In one year, I don’t see anything happening because no project is on”, he said.
Okocha threw the accusation back to Governor Fubara, saying he was the Accountant-General in the last Administration. He went on to say that the man in charge of IGR is still the same person under the last administration and now. “So, what has changed?
“Is it not true that both of you were sabotaging the former Administration? Was it not within his (Fubara’s) ambit to know about IGR, because it you as Accountant-General and the man in charge of IGR that were handling revenue? So, you just came up now to announce this.
“So, we condemn this. If it is true that you truly generated double revenue, and you can show us the indices, we commend you”, he challenged the governor.
On what the Government should do with the newly discovered revenue surge, Okocha said, “You said your Government can now execute projects with IGR. We will like that if it is true. But, how can that be put into action?
“Have you (Press people) seen now that they (Fubara Government) have changed style in the charade called Thanksgiving for Supreme Court verdict in his favour? You see it is being covered live in three television stations. He calls this organic support? So, you want us to believe that those ordinary folks who came to collect N5,000 allowance each are the ones that paid about N50m for television fees for three hours.
“That is where Rivers State is headed now. We thought that the money should have been ploughed into profitable ventures.”
