Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, the state capital gave the Federal Government knocks over its seeming inability to fight corruption and crude oil theft in the country and called for an immediate action plan to tackle the twin evils.
The Rivers governor spoke yesterday when he received the British Minister for Africa and Member of Parliament, Mark Simmonds, who paid him a courtesy call at his office in Port Harcourt.
Amaechi also used the occasion to plead with the Federal Government to give approval for the importation of two surveillance helicopters, which his administration had procured two years ago to assist in the fight against oil theft, but was lying fallow in America and incurring demurrage.
According to him, “I don’t know how much you have seen about oil theft, and I don’t know if the Federal Government is serious about combating oil theft. Why I say this is that for two years now, the federal government has refused entry into the country, two surveillance helicopters paid for by the Rivers State Government. These helicopters have cameras and their job is to fly all over and whoever that is stealing oil, you will see. And the helicopter will have a monitor with the Army, Police, Air Force and with the Department of State Security (DSS) ….”
Amaechi said he suspects government’s refusal to allow the helicopters entry into the country might be for political reasons adding that “The helicopters have been packed in America for two years now, and the Rivers State Government is paying demurrage on them. But if you see how much oil we are losing, we hear it is about $7 billion annually, then you will see that we need the helicopters.
“We paid for it, not the Federal Government, and we are prepared to help them but the President has emphatically refused to allow the two helicopters into the country for the past two years. We are still paying demurrage. The manufacturers have asked us if they should sell them. So if the Federal Government say they need help, why not bring in the helicopters rather than run to the British government. These are questions you should ask them. I said same thing to the American delegation. Our problem is not just oil theft which is costing this country to lose about $7 billion a year, but financial diversion also”, he said.
Amaechi, whose faction of the Nigeria Governors Forum has kicked against the suspension of Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, told his guest that the last letter written by the embattled apex bank boss was the diversion of $49.8 billion, stressing that the Federal Government has however, been able to reconcile the figure to $20 billion.
According to him “the President doesn’t know the figures accurately. They are calling $20 billion, while others say it is $10 billion. But, even, if it is $1 billion, it is a N170 billion, which is almost the budget for Enugu, Anambra and Kwara States, combined in a year. So, when the Prime Minister is discussing with Mr. President they should address these issues”.
He also bemoaned the high level of corruption in the country, which he explained has hampered some state governors from paying salaries promptly, and advised the Federal Government to govern by the rule of law and not by the rule of man.
