President Muhammadu Buhari and former Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Chibuike Ameachi, yesterday met for about an hour at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Although the former governor has been a regular visitor to the Villa since President Buhari took over power, his visit yesterday came barely 24 hours after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) commenced his probe alongside eight other former governors.

ICPC has set up a task force to probe Amaechi and former Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Raji Fashola (Lagos), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Adebayo Alao- Akala (Oyo).

Ameachi arrived the presidential villa at 1:42p.m. and walked straight to the President’s Office where the meeting held. The former Rivers governor did not accept to speak to State House Correspondents who sought to know the purpose of his visit on his way out of the villa.

Our correspondent gathered that his visit may not be unconnected to the recent appointment of Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) by President Buhari. Amaechi’s name had severally been mentioned in the media as one of those that was being considered for the position of Chief of Staff.

Presidency sources said Amaechi would have also used the opportunity of his visit to explain aspects of the allegations against him by the ICPC. The task force set up by the ICPC followed petitions written against Ameachi and other former governors.

Reports already indicate that top operatives of the commission working in the task force had been dispatched to the states to carry out the probe of the affected former governors.