The wife of former transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi, Dame Judith Amaechi, has refuted claims made by Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike that she was paid N4 billion a month by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Wike requested earlier this month that President Bola Tinubu make public the findings of the forensic audit conducted on NDDC, claiming that they include documents detailing Amaechi’s wife’s purported benefits from the intervention organization. The FCT minister further asserted that the report was put on hold in order to shield those who might face charges related to any kind of fraud.
Wike’s claims were deemed “wild and unfounded” by Amaechi’s wife in a statement released on Tuesday by her media assistant, Dike Bekwele. She charged that the FCT minister was using the allegations as political blackmail to damage her reputation and the company in question, Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI).
According to the Dame, the NDDC and ESI, a non-governmental organization (NGO) she established, have had an open and honest collaboration. According to her, any accusations of indictment against her or the ESI are unfounded because the forensic audit report that Wike cited has not been made public.
The statement read,“It is both absurd and a mere figment of Mr. Wike’s imagination,” “There is absolutely no iota of veracity in the allegation made by Mr. Wike against Dame Amaechi and the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI). Dame Amaechi did not and has never received FOUR BILLION NAIRA monthly payments (₦4,000,000,000.00) from the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
“Quite contrary to the falsehood concocted and diffused by Mr. Nyesom Wike, the counterpart funding between the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI) and the NDDC is in the public glare for scrutiny. “It will be preposterous for Wike to allege that the Empowerment Support Initiative (ESI) or Dame Judith Amaechi was indicted in the NDDC forensic audit report which has not been published to the Nigerian Public. It is both absurd, baseless, and a mere figment of Mr. Wike’s imaginations.
“We expect that Minister Nyesom Wike will remain patient to his prayers answered on the unpublished NDDC forensic audit report, than to engage and indulge in media trials on a Live National telecast. “We, therefore, challenge Mr. Wike to make public his version of the forensic audit report on the Niger Delta Development Commission where either Dame Judith Amaechi or the ESI were indicted.
“In the likely event that Wike fails to provide such a report, then we challenge Mr. Wike to actuate his boast and make bold to tender his resignation as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, forthwith with an unreserved apology to the Nation.”
