Former Governor of Enugu State Sullivan Chime has given his good will message to Ndi Enugu titled  “It is ridiculous to say that Pinnacle Oil is Ego Ndi Enugu”  which was disclosed during an interview and many believed that it is a message founded on the truth, for Ndi Enugu.

Question: Your Excellency, you have been Governor and in the best position to know weather is possible for a man who was Commissioner for Finance (to steal money), there is a rumor that he (Bar. Peter Mbah) built Pinnacle Oil with Enugu State’s finance which was the money he made while he was the Commissioner for Finance and then Chief of Staff?

It is not possible. Peter Mbah just happened to have been the Commissioner for two years. He joined Chimaraoke Nnamani’s administration which I was part of and served all through. I joined Chimaraoke Nnamani even before he was inaugurated.

We were there before (Peter Mbah) joined us in the second term. All these major players were all part of the Ebeanor Family because we (nicknamed) PDP, Ebeano.

Anybody that played politics between those years was Ebeano. So he (Peter Mbah) took over from Frank Nweke as Chief of Staff and later in the second term became the Commissioner for Finance.

It was his position and when I had discussion with him, he even told me how he got involved, that he volunteered to be investigated. He wasn’t invited. It’s ridiculous to think that a Commissioner for State Finance can take money. No! The Governor approves expenditure personally.

What the Commissioner does is just to implement. The Governor must endorse, must approve, physically signed and then the Accounting General and the Commissioner will now work together to implement.

Anybody accusing him of that… it is not possible.

Question: If he had collected Enugu allocation for two years, would it have been enough for him to build Pinnacle Oil?

The funny thing is, go back to those years, how much was Enugu State making? The IGR of Enugu then was below 50 million every month.

That was what we made, 50 million naira every month. When we came in (Chimaraoke Nnamani’s Administration), the State Government was owning workers three months salary, the State Government was struggling with money. So where did the money come from?  It is ridiculous..

Background

Sullivan Iheanacho Chime was born on 10 April 1959 at Park Lane Hospital, GRA, Enugu, Enugu State. He attended the College of Immaculate Conception (CIC) in Enugu for his secondary education (1971 – 1976). He studied law at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, graduating in 1980. He then enrolled at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos and graduated on 10 July 1981, when he was called to the bar.

For the next seventeen years he ran a private legal practice in Enugu. He was Secretary of Nigeria Bar Association, Enugu branch (1992 – 1994). Later, he was appointed Special Adviser (Legal Matters) to the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. In 2001, he was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Enugu State.

In April 2007, Sullivan Chime successfully vied for the post of governor of Enugu State on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform. He was sworn into office on 29 May 2007, succeeding Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. He was reelected on 26 April 2011.

Chime favoured a 4-point agenda for development: Physical Infrastructure, Economic Expansion and Employment, Rural Development and Service Delivery. In spite of his achievements, Chime was known to shun public functions, rather preferring to send a delegate than appear in person, even more so he shunned public fora that were inclined to celebrate his achievements. His political reticence earned him the title ‘Silent Achiever’ – Credit: Wikipedia