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30.06.2009 Politics

RAWLINGS GETS FOUR PAJEROS

By theghanaianjournal
Former President Jerry John RawlingsFormer President Jerry John Rawlings
30.06.2009 LISTEN

…From Nigeria Governor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria has established evidence that offers an indication yet, of a strong bond of “brotherliness” between former President Jerry John Rawlings and the Governor of Nigeria's Rivers State , Rt. Hon. Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi, over the last two decades.

The bond, according to EFCC's preliminary investigations, has resulted in the exchange of many gifts, including especially, cars and cash from the Nigerian Governor and Kente, Fugu, Boboo and Stool from the former Ghanaian President.

What, however, remains very outstanding in the exchange of gifts between the two, the EFCC established from its preliminary investigations is the four different types of PAJERO FOUR WHEEL DRIVE vehicles that the Governor gave to Mr. Rawlings in 2001.

The EFCC is investigating an allegation that the former Ghanaian President sourced a whopping $3.5 million from Rt. Hon. Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi, to shore up the campaign funding of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 2008 general elections.

A Spokesperson for the Commission, Femi Baba Femi, told a section of the Ghanaian media that his outfit could not ignore the allegation of illicit transactions, thus confirming that the commission was investigating the $3.5 million gift that was allegedly given to the former Ghanaian leader by the Rivers State Governor.

A Nigerian-based website, PoitBlankNews.com alleged few weeks ago that the Rivers State Governor wired an amount of $3.5 to Mr. Rawlings through his aide during the last Ghanaian elections, ostensibly to help boost the dwindling finances of the NDC.

“As a commission charged with the responsibility of investigating economic and financial crimes, an allegation of this nature cannot pass without catching our attention”, the spokesman declared.

According to Nigerian report, the EFCC has established that Governor Amaechi bought four brand new Pajero Four Wheel drive vehicles for the ex-Ghanaian President at a time that Mr. Rawlings had refused to use vehicles allocated to him by then President Kufuor's administration.

The Rawlings action TODAY recollects, was a mark of protest by Mr. Rawlings against what he said were acts of intimidation and harassment against him (Rawlings) and other members of the 1st NDC government which ruled from January 7th 1993 to January 7th 2001.

The customs and excise duties on the vehicles, TODAY gathered were picked and paid for by the Rivers State Governor. The latest discovery, TODAY established is offering a reliable avenue for the EFCC to trace the cash Cheque that was wired to Rawlings by the Governor to offset the excise duties on the Pajero vehicles at the Tema port.

Checks made at Tema port have confirmed that the cars were retrieved from the port by Victor Emmanuel Smith, the former aide to the former President. The paper gathered from EFCC's preliminary investigations that, the Rivers State Governor gave the Pajeros to Mr. Rawlings at a time that the Governor was the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, a position he held from 1999 to 2007.

The report further indicated that the offer made by the Governor to Mr. Rawlings was as a result of a distressed call the former Ghanaian President made to his friend, alleging that he had virtually been rendered destitude by the Kufuor administration which had then taken over the reigns of power in Ghana .

Rawlings, according to EFCC's initial findings, sent an Aide to the Governor to narrate his ordeal and the kind of ill-treatment being meted to him by his successor.

The former President refused to use vehicles allocated to him as per the recommendations made by the Greenstreet report on emoluments for former state functionaries of the first NDC administration, including the President and his Vice.

It was within that period that the former President made the urgent SOS plea to his Governor friend to send him the vehicles, a plea TODAY found out was immediately obliged to by Governor Amaechi.

Source: TODAY Newspaper

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