The Office of the President of the Senate has challenged former Rivers State Governor, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, to produce evidence to back his allegation that Senate President Godswill Akpabio introduced a 50 per cent deduction from payments to contractors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The challenge was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President of the Senate, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, in reaction to remarks attributed to Amaechi at a political rally in Bauchi State on Saturday.
Eyiboh said the allegation was sufficiently serious to deserve scrutiny, but also specific enough to require evidence, noting that Amaechi offered no contract documents, payment records, identifiable transactions or other verifiable particulars to substantiate his accusation.
He said an allegation delivered before an enthusiastic political audience does not, by that circumstance alone, acquire the status of an established fact.
“The distinction between political accusation and demonstrable wrongdoing is fundamental to responsible public discourse. Public figures, particularly those who have occupied high executive offices, should appreciate that distinction and accord public communication the decorum it requires,” Eyiboh said.
He insisted that if Amaechi possesses credible evidence of unlawful deductions involving NDDC contractors, the appropriate course is to identify the relevant transactions, disclose the supporting records and submit the material to competent investigative authorities, not to engage in rabble-rousing.
The statement posed a series of questions: Which contracts are involved? Which contractors were affected? When were the alleged deductions made? Through what payment arrangements did they occur? What evidence establishes the personal involvement attributed to the President of the Senate?
Eyiboh said these were not unreasonable demands but the elementary requirements of accountability and standards of proof, adding that neither the prominence of an accuser nor the intensity of his language can substitute for answers.
The Senate President’s office also turned the spotlight on Amaechi’s own record as Governor of Rivers State from 2007 to 2015, saying it was a legitimate subject of public examination, including the relationship between expenditure, project completion, operational sustainability and value for money.
It cited the Port Harcourt monorail project, which became the subject of sustained controversy over its reported cost, incomplete implementation and eventual inability to provide the anticipated public transportation service, as well as the Malaria-free Rivers State initiatives.
The statement said the history of these projects raised questions that cannot be resolved through political exchanges alone, including what expenditure was incurred, what proportion of the original transportation objectives was achieved, and what institutional and contractual decisions contributed to the project’s difficulties.
Eyiboh said public accountability does not begin and end with one’s political opponents, but extends to every public official entrusted with resources, authority and responsibility.
He said the approaching 2027 general elections will inevitably produce disagreements among political actors, but electoral competition does not diminish the obligation to speak responsibly about matters capable of affecting public confidence and trust in institutions.
The statement added that the NDDC was established to address longstanding developmental challenges in the Niger Delta, and allegations concerning its contracts, finances and administration should be investigated through credible processes rather than reduced to instruments of political confrontation.
It said the people of the Niger Delta deserve functioning infrastructure, transparent procurement, completed projects and measurable developmental outcomes, and their interests should remain central to any serious discussion about the Commission.
Eyiboh invited Amaechi to place any credible documentary evidence in his possession before the appropriate authorities so that the issues he raised may be examined objectively and in accordance with the law, adding that Akpabio’s era as Governor of Akwa Ibom State speaks eloquently to accountability.
“Ultimately, the credibility of a public allegation must rest not on the volume of its delivery, the status of its author or the occasion on which it is made, but on the quality of the evidence supporting it. Let the facts speak,” the statement said.
