•Write to me for financial record – Wokocha
From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
The former chairman of the Tinubu/Shetima Grassroot Independent Campaign Council (ICC), Augustine Nwokocha, has been accused of misappropriating N65 million meant to prosecute the 2023 presidential in the state.
The money, which came in piecemeal of N5 million, N50 million and N10 million respectively, was allegedly paid into Wokocha’s private account for the presidential rally, but could not be accounted for.
Briefing journalists on Tuesday, the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and South-South coordinator of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu, BAT Vanguard, Tony Okocha, revealed that few days to the presidential rally in Port Harcourt, N50 million was donated to the party for the success of the rally by the owner of Belema Oil, Tien Jackrich.
Okocha said: “Tien Jackrich promised to assist us with the sum of N50 million for the rally. I personally sent Wokocha’s account detail to him. But, ask the local government coordinators if any money was given to them from that money.
“The N50 million was for mobilization and demobilization of members and provision of buses for the rally. I can’t tell whether the money was well appropriated or misappropriated. That is for him to settle with the people.
“Jackrich had earlier given us N5 million for entertainment when he came and saw the progress of work at the Liberation Stadium in preparation for the Tinubu presidential rally.”
According to him, another N10 million was sent by the national body of the ICC to all chairmen of the ICC across the states of the federation and Rivers share was sent to Wokocha and could not be accounted for.
He alleged that when the state ICC chairman was confronted for the N10 million which came a day to the presidential election, Wokocha responded that he handed over the money to Senator Magnus Abe, who was the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state at the time.
Okocha reiterated the need for the former state governor, Nyesom Wike, to defect to the APC, saying nobody should be considered for any appointment in the President Tinubu’s government first, except those who worked hard for the victory of the President in Rivers State.
He noted that Wokocha who served as chairman of finance committee in the SDP as published in the Nation newspaper of February 1, 2023, has no locus standi to dispute the call by thousands of APC members in Rivers State for Wike to join the party and take the leadership role of the party.
In his reaction to the allegation, Wokocha said that if Okocha wanted the financial report of the monies, “he (Okocha) should write to me and I will answer him”.
Wokocha noted that he would not want to “condescend to Tony Okocha’s level. What is on the table is whether it is appropriate for Wike to defect to the APC and become the leader of the party. That is what matters right now.
“I don’t want to banter words with him. Tony Okocha is not a member of the APC. He belongs to the PDP. He was very prominent during the governor’s inauguration.”
Wokocha explained that he was only the chairman of the finance committee of Magnus Abe governorship project and not as a member of the SDP.
“It was Magnus Abe that put Tony Okocha’s name as a member of the PCC and put me as a member of the ICC in the state, even when he (Abe) was a governorship candidate of the SDP.”