The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has disclosed he once rejected a one billion naira bribe while he was governor of Rivers State.
Speaking in Lagos, Amaechi explained that he rejected the bribe because of his principled stance on corruption.
Stressing that Nigeria needs to go back to its value system, Amaechi said, “My first confrontation with bribe was with a big contractor in Rivers State. After awarding the contract, he brought a billion naira. I screamed.
“I asked, where did you get the money? and he said from what he got (from the contract) and I said ‘look, that means you over quoted the contract’.
“I said the only reason you are giving me N1 billion was because if the contract was N32 billion, you made it N37 billion.
“I have been special assistant to the governor for two years; speaker, eight years; governor, eight years, minister nearly two years, that’s nearly twenty years.
“So I know Nigerian politics well. Very, very well.”
