Semenitari denies borrowing N1bn as Amaechi’s aide

THE Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has dismissed claim by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, that she borrowed N1bn on behalf of the Information ministry while she occupied the same office.

Semenitari is the immediate past commissioner for Information and Communications, a position she occupied during the Rotimi Amaechi administration till May 29, 2015.

The NDDC managing director described the allegation by Tam-George that she took the loan from the bank as false and unfortunate.

The currently Information commissioner had during a radio programme claimed that the Semenitari took the loan while she was overseeing the State Ministry of Information.

However, Semenitari, who spoke in Port Harcourt on Monday, pointed out that no commissioner had the power to borrow money on behalf of a ministry.

She said, “No Commissioner can do that (borrow money on behalf of a ministry). I did not.

This is a definite and unfortunate lie. No ministry can borrow from any bank.

“It is against financial guidelines and service rules. Only a state government can borrow and there was no project in the ministry of information requiring government to borrow.”

Semenitari challenged her predecessor (Tam-George) to show any evidence that she borrowed money from any bank while serving the state as commissioner for Information and Communications.

But Tam-George insisted that his predecessor was involved in financial recklessness, adding that the records to prove his claim were still available at the State Ministry of Information and Communications.

“The ministry insists on her financial recklessness. The records are in the Ministry for public consumption. Come and see it,” he said.

Semenitari denies borrowing N1bn as Amaechi’s aide