Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari has said that although N82 million was spent by Rivers State Government to host Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, the money was not for Soyinka to eat dinner alone, other expenses were incurred.

In a Statement by Bekee Anyalewechi, Special Assistant (media) to the Ag. Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Semenitari explained that expenses covered “Dance Drama by University of Port Harcourt Arts Village; Great Singha & His Highlife Band; Set Design, Stage Lighting & Costume Design; Costume Design & Stage Property; Dinner; Transportation and Accommodation of guests from outside the country and those outside Rivers State; Decoration; Travels & Logistics, etc.”

The NDDC Boss described allegations as bare faced lies written to smear her reputation. The statement read “For months, officials of the current administration in Rivers State were looking for “evidence” to justify their much-touted corruption allegation against the former Administration of Hon. Chibuike Amaechi. And last week, they finally “found” one.

“At a lavish press conference in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, called on anti-corruption agencies to investigate the expenditure of N82 million made to host Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, during his 80th birthday celebration.


“Unfortunately, and perhaps to show the sinister intent of the whole issue, to which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have also shown undue excitement, references were made to Prof. Soyinka as a “friend of Amaechi”, without putting in context what necessitated the honour for the Nobel Laureate by the then Rivers State Government.
“While the whole claim is nothing but bare-faced lies deliberately hatched to smear the literary scholar as well as the Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, it is a shame that officials of government would indulge in this kind of gimmicky just to settle petty scores. We feel particularly sorry that Tam-George, barely a week in office, has manifested such gross incompetence in the procedures of his office as spokesman of government.

“The background to the decision of the then Rivers State Government to honour Prof. Soyinka, his family and friends, had a link to the great literary feat the then Administration of Hon. Amaechi achieved in securing Port Harcourt as the UNESCO World Book Capital City 2014. The feat, which put not only Rivers State but indeed Nigeria on the global map, had not happened before and one of the people who assisted in that regard was Prof. Soyinka, a cerebral literary icon, an authority in global literature and The Arts generally.

“However, was the total amount of N82 million spent on the dinner alone, as Tam-George, PDP and their cohort would want the world go to bed with? The answer definitely is NO, even as we challenge him to release the entire documents as contained in Mrs. Ibim Semenitari’s Memo REF: MOI/COM/C./82/Vol. III/227 to cover Dance Drama by University of Port Harcourt Arts Village; Great Singha & His Highlife Band; Set Design, Stage Lighting & Costume Design; Costume Design & Stage Property; Dinner; Transportation and Accommodation of guests from outside the country and those outside Rivers State; Decoration; Travels & Logistics, etc.

“Indeed, nothing can be more callous than the imputation that the dinner was because Prof. Soyinka “is a friend of Amaechi”. Having turned down several other overtures for an open honour to his enormous contributions to the growth of the literary industry in Rivers State, it was a decision of the State Executive Council to celebrate a man who had been a strong DNA in the birth of Garden City Literary Festival (later Port Harcourt Literary Festival) which catapulted the state to a global player in The Arts.

“Rather than face his urgent job as Information Commissioner to see whether he can help reposition an administration that is fast losing credibility in the eyes of civilized people in Rivers State, Tam-George would rather prefer to smear the exalted reputation of Prof. Soyinka, a man whose shoes’ lace he would be unable to untie all his life.

“We can forgive Tam-George’s attempts to smear the reputation and hard-work of Semenitari, who meritoriously served Rivers State for six years, since he must be suffering from a serious complex. But to drag the name of Prof. Soyinka into their coven of inferiority is beyond the pale.

“We, therefore, state unequivocally that if the media invitation to anti-crime agencies to probe Semenitari was on the expenditure of the N82 million, her doors are open any day, any time to welcome them.”



http://www.theheraldng.com/n82-million-was-spent-but-not-for-soyinka-to-eat-dinner-alone-nddc-boss/?utm_source=dlvr.it_nnd&utm_medium=twitter

Metuh can also say he spent 400million on organizing multina dancehall abi?

APC_sh1t

Deny First, then accept later with reason.

Imagine the shameful and lame excuse this woman is giving for squandering millions of tax payers money on frivolous issue

Seems APC as a party is now the only means to siphon funds and go free

Why spend such an amount of money on a homeless, wifeless, and comfortless cultist

Is that so?

she is a saint, since she's in Apc

APC is a shameless party. Imagine if it was a PDP person that was giving this kind of excuses for squandering 82m, am sure you know what this Zombies will be doing now!


This country is in a mess, and Buhari is a scam.

richidinho:
Metuh can also say he spent 400million on organizing multina dancehall abi?

APC_sh1t

DID YOU READ THE ARTICLE AT ALL?

What exactly is wrong with APC?

johnmartus:
DID YOU READ THE ARTICLE AT ALL?

No

but i saw this in my dream "In a Statement by Bekee Anyalewechi, Special Assistant (media) to the Ag. Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Semenitari explained that expenses covered “Dance Drama by University of Port Harcourt Arts Village"

You won't see this on front page because it's against Ameachi. If it's Ameachi's pictures, entering and disembarking from aircraft, standing on the line for check-in, dancing or anything in his favor, it will immediately be on front page even with less than five comments.

That's how biased and evil we have become

id911:
You won't see this on front page because it's against Ameachi. If it's Ameachi's pictures, entering and disembarking from aircraft, standing on the line for check-in, dancing or anything in his favor, it will immediately be on front page even with less than five comments.

That's how biased and evil we have become

You should even be happy that the story managed to ESCAPE from the government-controlled media

Y are you reporting yourself? Did efcc ask you?

richidinho:
Metuh can also say he spent 400million on organizing multina dancehall abi?

APC_sh1t

Common sense is indeed not common... was the money paid into ameachi's bank account or to any company he owns??

Hope somebody will not deny this message soon

alcmene:



You should even be happy that the story managed to ESCAPE from the government-controlled media

It's very painful the way these guys in the media are shameless going about reporting events in the country today. I was thinking with the change of government the bad eggs both in the opposition and the ruling party will be dealt with accordingly so that our country will move forward. But the media is hiding and supporting atrocities committed by the ruling party members.

They'll regret it in the future

OMG!! now this is very funny

wrong heading Op. I was looking for where she stated that 82 million naira was spent.

richidinho:
Metuh can also say he spent 400million on organizing multina dancehall abi?

APC_sh1t

of course, I hope he has the documents numbered as bekee did?

Tycoflu:
wrong heading Op. I was looking for where she stated that 82 million naira was spent.

Maybe you are reading something else. It was even stated in the hand over note Amaechi left that is why they have not come out to deny outrightly.

eagleeye2:
Deny First, then accept later with reason.

richidinho:
Metuh can also say he spent 400million on organizing multina dancehall abi?

APC_sh1t

But Metuh did not say he spent 400 million organizing anything. Mrs. Ibim Semenitari has documents, invoices and receipts showing how the N85million was spent. Even though the amount is exhorbitant, it is covered. According to the Nigerian Federation, what a state decide to spend its money on is its own business, as long as it is legally covered.

Now, ask Metuh to show documents on how he spent N400 million of arms money meant to fight boko Haram. The money allegedly stolen by Metuh is Federal Money and not state money, so naturally the federal govenment would want to recover its stolen money.

This is total rubbish, spending such an amount to lodge people in hotels is unacceptable, if we can not do things with honour then we are in trouble, yes hosting parties cost alot, even at ten million naira to host a party for our amiable noble laureate is too much, this is coming from an APC supporter,if at all someone must be made to pay back at least 60 million naira to deter future occurrence.

flimsy excuse for squandering millions f our money......I pity my country!

Hmmmmm

Some level of sincerity, we will get there...

So wike was right after all

In a Statement by Bekee Anyalewechi, Special Assistant (media) to the Ag. Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Semenitari explained that expenses covered “Dance Drama by University of Port Harcourt Arts Village; Great Singha & His Highlife Band; Set Design, Stage Lighting & Costume Design; Costume Design & Stage Property; Dinner; Transportation and Accommodation of guests from outside the country and those outside Rivers State; Decoration; Travels & Logistics, etc.”

This is all balderdash, why were they denying it initially, 15mil will cover all these and 'change' go still remain, bottom line is that the used 82mil naira to host one individual for a day, this is pure corruption, which this Administration stands against....so they say.

This is purely unacceptable, it will be a shame to reason and sound judgement if this is not probed , but let's pause a second and think a minute , is this not outrageous

Am listening..


So the commissioner of information was not delusional after all.

The truth is gradually coming out!






What is Magun and EFCC waiting for?


Amaechi should be arrested and incarcerated with immediate effect!