Rivers State Governor, Wike Lays Claims to $43m, Other Sums Recovered by EFCC from Ikoyi Apartment

The drama surrounding the ownership of the Ikoyi apartment where operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered huge sums of cash in various currencies seem not to be coming to an end anytime soon, as Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, has claimed the money belongs to his state.

So far, EFCC is yet to mention the names of persons suspected to have kept the cash haul of $43.3million, £27,800 and N23.2m at No 16, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos thereby leaving room for much speculation.

Persons who have so far been linked to the building and/or the cash include transport minister, Rotimi Amaechi; the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Muazu; and sacked managing director at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue.

Media entrepreneur, Mo Abudu has similarly distanced herself from the controversial Ikoyi apartment and also denied dating Mr Amaechi.

On Friday, Governor Wike said the money belonged to Rivers state and gave the federal government a 7-day ultimatum to return the money to the state or risk legal action.

Wike said investigations by the Rivers State Government revealed that the money was proceed from the sale of gas turbines by the immediate past Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who he claimed also owned the Ikoyi building.

“If you recollect in 2015, we said that gas turbines built by former Governor Peter Odili were sold to Sahara Energy, business partners of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi at $319million.

“That money was used to sponsor the All Progressives Congress for the 2015 general elections. From the date of sale of the gas turbines to  May 29, 2015, the money depleted from $319million to $204,000. What was stashed at the Ikoyi residence was part of that fund,” Wike said.

Wike added that the state government had the necessary facts to back its claim and that attributing ownership of the money to the NIA was a face saving measure by the federal government.

“As I speak to  you, the federal Government is so embarrassed that this has happened.  All the stories that the money belongs to the NIA are fake,” Wike said.