Barely a month after the Supreme Court sacked him from office, the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia, has said that he left N28bn in the treasury.
Omehia stated this during an interview with journalists after delivering a keynote address at the United Nations African Industrial Day celebration in Lagos on Wednesday.
He was reacting to allegation of mismanagement of the state�s treasury during his brief stay in office.
Omehia said, �On the issue of empty treasury, my successor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, had already cleared me of misappropriation of funds when he told Nigerians that he met a huge sum in the treasury.
�The allegation that I mismanaged N150bn was unfounded because in the first instance, the entire money that accrued to the state throughout my five months� tenure was not up to that figure.
�The fact remains that as at the 27th of last month, the money in the treasury of Rivers State, which I left behind stood at N28bn.�
The former governor said he did not intend to challenge his removal from office because he had taken it in good faith, and as the will of God that should not be questioned.
Omehia urged the Federal Government to increase the N140bn appropriated in the 2008 budget for the development of Niger Delta to curtail criminal activities and agitations in the region.
Nov222007