[1] In November 2002, he was appointed the Party Secretary and Mayor of Lu'an, he remained in that position for five years, when he was elevated again to become the Vice-Governor of Anhui.
On June 4, 2013, state media announced that Ni was being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party for "serious violations of laws and regulations".
[4] The party investigation concluded that Ni had abused his power to seek benefit for others, taken "massive amounts" in bribes, and was "morally depraved".
[3] In addition, it was established that Ni took kickbacks for lobbying for favorable policies for the executive of a local metals processing company.
[3] Chinese media also reported that Ni himself claimed that he had always been a hardworking public servant and that he only became corrupt later in life as a result of becoming hopeless about gaining further promotion as he reached retirement age.
[7] The Communist Party-run People's Daily wrote an editorial that compared Ni's obsession with jade with an ancient ruler from the 660s BC who diverted state treasury to fund his hobby of raising cranes.
[8] Ni also reportedly complained that he would not have committed the most egregious offenses had his superiors and party disciplinary authorities simply warned him about the nature of his conduct, implying essentially that he 'wouldn't have done it if he knew he would be caught.
'[8] Along this theme, several Chinese newspapers ran commentaries that rule of law and better enforcement of discipline were the best means to prevent corruption.