‎EXTRA: Sekibo, Rivers senator, blows whistle in plenary

George Sekibo, senator representing Rivers east, blew a whistle during the senate’s sitting on Thursday.

Sekibo speaking on the floor of the senate, insisted that the N13 billion found at the Osborne Towers in Lagos state by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) belongs to Rivers.

The senator explained that the initial claim made by the Rivers state government claiming the money was the first time a whistle was blown on the matter and he was blowing the whistle a second time by bringing the matter up at the senate.

He recalled that Rivers had earlier petitioned the senate about a $700 million missing from the state but the matter became political.

“We appreciate the effort of the president for setting up a committee to look into it. Also appreciate the fact that Nigerians are worried that the money that does not belong to anybody was lodged in a private apartment,” Sekibo said.

“Mr. President we are worried of the claims of the DG NIA and the attorney-general of the federation that the money belongs to NIA and it was approved for covert operations.

“We are worried because at the end of every budget year, every such funds not used by agencies are usually returned to the coffers of the federation, which is central bank.

“We have a suspicion and our suspicion is coming through this direction – the Rivers government had forwarded a petition claiming the loss of over $700 million allegedly taken by the former governor of the state and we pray the senate to do something about it at the time but it became too political.

“That was a whistle that the Rivers government blew at the time. We are coming back to say that money found in 7b – we have done our interim investigation by the Rivers state government and we are blowing the whistle the second time. We trust the capacity of the vice-president as the chairman of the investigative team. And on behalf of my constituents, I am blowing the whistle a second time.”

After speaking, the senator blew a whistle thrice before taking his seat.