WHY EX-GOVERNOR AMAECHI WILL PASS

People all around the world, have corruption on the mind. Economist Jakob Svensson has defined corruption as the misuse of public office for private gain and, by this definition, it’s easy to see why it upsets us so much, as it constitutes a theft of resources that belong to all of us. And when corruption is widespread, it can have devastating
effects on a society. Of course, most corruption is nowhere near as outrageous, and there are times when the presence of corruption can actually lead to just outcomes.

 Why might this be so? One reason: Most of us fail to imagine that corruption can also grease the wheels of prosperity. Yet in places where bureaucracies and organizations are inefficient (meaning entrepreneurs and big firms struggle to transport or export or comply with regulation), corruption could improve efficiency and growth. Bribes can act like a piece rate or price discrimination, and give faster or better service to the firms with highest opportunity cost of waiting.

 In America we can see how corruption can actually make Congress more efficient. For four years, the House of Representatives has been operating under a ban of so-called “earmarks,” or spending provisions tacked on to a larger bill that fund pet projects of a specific congressman that bill sponsors are trying to woo. This is, of course, bribery by any other name: “Vote for this bill and we’ll give you something you want.” At the same time, since earmarks have been banned, Congress has been unable to get much of anything done, leading politicians on both sides of the aisle and countless commentators to beg for their return.

Most of the time, corrupt officials are like parasites that feed off society and benefit only themselves.  As corruption becomes more prevelant, ethical people lose faith in the system and are sapped of their drive to work honestly. But it’s important to understand that because we live in an imperfect world, a bit of controlled corruption can function as a lubricant to overcome some of our worst problems.


Former Rivers State commissioners who served during the tenure of Ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi, weekend, in Port Harcourt, dismissed the report of misappropriated Rivers State funds during Mr. Amaechi’s tenure, as claimed by the Rivers State Judicial Commission of Inquiry.

They insisted that the report of the commission was not only a product of illegality, but also that the allegations of misappropriation of public funds were mere fabrications to malign Amaechi and those who worked with him.

The ex-commissioners, at a briefing, contended that it was illegal for a governor to set up a panel of inquiry based on mind- set, claiming that Governor Nyesom Wike and the chairman of the judicial commission of inquiry, Justice George Omereji, had allegedly set their minds on issues to be investigated by the commission before it even commenced proceedings.

Wike has won, i am so happy for him,  he should face the task ahead of him as a Governor than on matters which 'he' could eventually be roped in, in time to come. Show me a politician who is not corrupt and i will show a cockroach who dies instantly at the first kill. I would not say Amaechi is totally free of corruption, if he were, he would never have completed most project in Rivers State. Corruption can have positive impact where converted funds are used to help the masses, not just people who were loyal to you but a general feel of you or In the long run, all the funds stolen have a way to hunt you down at the slightest provocation.  


According to the Ex-commissioners, “By the end of Mr. Amaechi’s tenure, two stations had been completed, Azikiwe and UTC stations. The Depot and Sharks Park stations were already 80% completed. The train has been mounted and tested. In fact, the first phase of the project (2.6 km stretch) could be said to have been technically completed. It is infantile and the height of irresponsibility to request that N33 billion be returned to the Rivers State Government. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the rudiments of governance and infrastructural developments.”

 True!
On the agricultural credit loan scheme allegedly shared as grant to ex-council chairmen during governor Amaechi’s tenure, the former commissioners said 380 mother cooperative societies benefited from it, stressing that the records were in the ministry,
They said: “About N3.1 billion was disbursed from the funds leaving behind about N900 million with Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture account for the completion of the projects.”