The former chairman of the Tinubu/Shetima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (ICC), Augustine Nwokocha, has been accused of misappropriating N65 million meant to prosecute the 2023 presidential in the state.

The money, which came in piecemeal of N5 million, N50 million and N10 million respectively, was allegedly paid into Nwokocha’s private account for the presidential rally, but could not be accounted for.

Briefing journalists on Tuesday, the chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and South-South coordinator of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu, BAT Vanguard, Tony Okocha, revealed that few days to the presidential rally in Port Harcourt, N50 million was donated to the party for the success of the rally by the owner of Belema Oil, Tien Jackrich.

He noted that Nwokocha who served as chairman of finance committee in the SDP as published in the Nation newspaper of February 1, 2023, has no locus standi to dispute the call by thousands of APC members in Rivers State for Wike to join the party and take the leadership role of the party.

In his reaction to the allegation, Nwokocha said that if Okocha wanted the financial report of the monies, “he (Okocha) should write to me and I will answer him”.

Nwokocha noted that he would not want to “condescend to Tony Okocha’s level. What is on the table is whether it is appropriate for Wike to defect to the APC and become the leader of the party. That is what matters right now.

“I don’t want to banter words with him. Tony Okocha is not a member of the APC. He belongs to the PDP. He was very prominent during the governor’s inauguration,” he added.

Nwokocha explained that he was only the chairman of the finance committee of Magnus Abe governorship project and not as a member of the SDP.

“It was Magnus Abe that put Tony Okocha’s name as a member of the PCC and put me as a member of the ICC in the state, even when he (Abe) was a governorship candidate of the SDP.”

(Courtesy, excluding headline, Daily Sun)