Amaechi is before an Abuja high court for a suit over defamation of character, reputation and person thereby praying the court to order the defendants to pay N3billion for general damages done to him, Vanguard reports.
The state PDP which had consecutively maintained that the former governor had embezzled millions of dollars into his personal account in faraway Switzerland, also alleged that Amaechi stole $757 million, an equivalence of N80billion of Rivers state public funds and stashed same away into an account in his name in Bancorp Bank in Minnesota, United States of America.
But the embattled Ikwerre son is officially negating the allegation by taking the plaintiffs to court stressing that the accusations are sheer efforts by the major opposition party and its chairman to ridicule his personality and political career.
Amaechi said: “The allegations are untrue, motivated by ill-will and without any foundation in truth and further avers that the defendants made the said libelous publications after the PDP lost the presidential election and with a view to rubbishing him in the eyes of right thinking members of the public and the persons to whom the libelous publications have been made.”
The former governor affirmed in his suit claiming that he did not steal the said $757million or N80billion of Rivers state public funds and did not stash same away in Bancorp Bank in Minnesota, United States of America.
Amaechi also stressed that he did not squirrel away any state public funds in Switzerland.
Furthermore, the former governor noted that the Bancorp Bank in Minnesota, did not at any time reveal that he embezzled or misappropriated or connived in the embezzlement and misappropriation of money meant for Rivers State people in the sum of $757 million stashed away in his name with the bank.
He said: “The Bancorp Bank Minnesota, United States did not write and did not communicate with President Muhammadu Buhari over any said sum of $757 million allegedly looted by the plaintiff that is kept with the bank and in Switzerland since no such money was ever looted by the plaintiff. There exists no letter which the defendants had seen written to President Buhari by Bancorp Bank confirming the existence, lodgment or transfer with the said Bancorp Bank and in Switzerland of the said sum in the name of the Plaintiff (Amaechi) since no such monies were ever looted by the Plaintiff.
“The Plaintiff (Amaechi) did not steal monies belonging to Rivers State and did not lodge them in any private foreign accounts. The Plaintiff did not admit that he lodged and domiciled in his name in an account in Bancorp Bank, Minnesota, any monies as alleged by the Defendants. The Plaintiff did not lodge any sum of $757 million or N80 billion in the said bank account belonging to him and none was revealed or blown open by Christiane Amanpour of CNN.”
The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike had claimed on Wednesday, September 16, that the setting up of the panel of inquiry in the state to investigate Amaechi was a step taken from President Buhari who has also been looking into how public funds were spent under the last administration as part of the fight against corruption.
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