Group Debunks Extortion Of N300m From Amaechi

Cross section of dignitaries at the stakeholders’ meeting, held at Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday. Photo: Chris Monyanaga

Against the backdrop of recent allegations in the media by some members of the Forum of Organised Opposition Political Parties (FOOPP), the Chairman of the Forum, Chief (Dr) Davies Ibiamu Ikanya has declared that FOOPP was not formed to extort money from anybody including the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

Chief Ikanya who is also the Rivers State Commissioner for Special Duties stated this while fielding questions from journalists in his office last Tuesday.

“Our motive for forming the Forum was not to use the body to extort money from government or the state governor; that wasn’t our reason for forming FOOPP,” Chief Ikanya lamented.

Re-acting to accusations that the leadership of the Forum collected the sum of N300 million from Governor Amaechi, Chief Ikanya blamed the rumour on mischief-makers who are disappointed that the body is not being used to extort money from government.

“The leadership of Forum of Organised Opposition Political Parties or anyone didn’t receive any such money from government or from governor Amaechi as is being alleged. May be, people joined the Forum thinking that it would be a place to share money and when their expectations were not met, they started speculating,” Ikanya said.

Explaining further, Chief Ikanya revealed: “Chief Alaye Harry himself is a state deputy chairman of the Forum; and Chief Roberts is a BOT member and they both cannot say one Naira was received for the formation of the Forum from anybody. They were part and parcel of the formation of FOOPP. They know we formed this thing from our pockets because of the love we have for Rivers State; when there was a lot of pressure from outside to use the [opposition] political parties as weapons to unleash mayhem on the state, some of us said we can’t allow it,” he declared.

Continuing he said: “We felt that we must bring the political parties together and join forces with Amaechi and work for the benefit of our people. We didn’t form it as a platform to scoop or collect money from Amaechi. That is not to say that we ought not to be empowered. Now, if empowerment comes, governor Amaechi knows the right and legal way to empower our people.”

“Now anybody who knows governor Amaechi will tell you that the governor will never give you N300 million because he will ask you ‘from which budget do I get it? For him, that kind of a thing is not just possible. So, we did not receive any money. It’s a farce,” Chief Ikanya declared.