*Amaechi - Buhari's friend - accused of stealing nearly N200 billion Naira

President Muhammadu Buhari is seen by some as leading the battle against corruption.

But worrying allegations swirl around one of his close allies, former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi is being accused of misappropriating roughly N200 billion Naira by commission probing sale of Rivers State assets.

He is also being accused of diverting large chunk of that money into Buhari’s presidential campaign.

When David Cameron was caught on camera last week before an anti-corruption summit describing Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt’, President Buhari rallied to the Prime Minister’s defence by agreeing with him.

Rotimi Amaechi, who travelled with the president to the summit, is Nigeria’s transport minister and is said to have bankrolled Buhari’s presidential campaign.

In the Nigerian press he has been dubbed ‘ATM’ – the American term for cash machine – because of his ability to produce vast sums of money at short notice. 

He remains in his post despite being accused of misappropriating £338million by a commission investigating the sale of state assets.

Some of that money is likely to have come from UK taxpayers, who gave the country £1 billion in aid over five years to 2014, including £248 million in 2014 alone. 

Separately, Amaechi is accused of diverting N56 billion Naira of state funds into Buhari’s presidential campaign, with reports he paid for media, consultants and private jets.

A leaked draft budget for 2016 showed the Nigerian government earmarked N7 billion for refurbishment and maintenance of the president’s official residence, Aso Rock Guest House, in the capital Abuja .

The allegations come as the president stands accused of enjoying a lavish lifestyle while many millions suffer in poverty.

There was also a request for N5 billion for building a VIP wing at a hospital used by families of the president and his ministerial team.

Mr Amaechi has denied the allegations against him.

[The report “Is Nigerian leader's pal 'fantastically corrupt'? Friend of African president accused of stealing £500million” was first published in DAILYMAIL]

- See more at: http://elombah.com/index.php/reports/7054-is-buhari-s-pal-amaechi-fantastically-corrupt#sthash.SdqtTuYW.dpuf