Governor Okowa in alleged budget padding scandal

– Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other lawmakers in Delta state House of Assembly have allegedly padded billions of naira in the DESOPADEC budget

– A top director in the commission says the budget padding crisis could escalate into a bloody ethnic crisis if not resolved soon

– The alleged colossal scam came to limelight two weeks ago when the controversial budget was leaked to the public

The alleged padding of the 2016 Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, (DESOPADEC) budget by the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Monday Igbuya, in connivance with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other lawmakers is brewing crisis in Delta state.

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According to Sahara Reporters, the governor, the commission’s managing director, Williams Makind and others allegedly hijacked multi-billion naira contracts to their private companies among other corrupt and fraudulent practices carried out in the commission’s N28 billion controversial budget.

The said colossal scam came to limelight two weeks ago when the controversial budget was leaked to the public.

A top director in the commission from one of the marginalized ethnicities told Sahara Reporters that the budget padding crisis could escalate into a bloody ethnic crisis if not resolved soon.

He said what he saw in the yet to be signed budget is more than the padding crisis consuming the House of Representatives.

The director said Okowa is offended by the leakage of the budget and has refused to sign the budget.

“He’s not happy with the speaker and others the way and manner the document was leaked. You will weep for Delta State if you see how these people are trading with our State,” he said.

“Come and see how Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Monday Igbuya, Chairman, Delta State House of Assembly Committee on DESOPADEC and member representing Warri South Constituency II in the House, Mr. Dennis Omovie, and former Governor James Ibori’s daughter who is the Chairwoman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Erhiatake Ibori, corruptly and fraudulently padded the budget for their personal interests and to the favor of the Urhobo ethnicity and to the detriment of other ethnicities.

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“Unlike in previous budgets which never exceeded 13% of the entire budget of the commission, the 2016 DESOPADEC budget allocated 37% of its proposed expenditure as centralized, with Urhobo alone getting over 50% despite ranking lower than Itsekiri, Ijaw, Isoko and Ndokwa in terms of crude oil production quantum, a principle on which DESOPADEC was established by the Chief James Onanefe Ibori administration. The real concept behind the creation of the commission is no more. “

He decried that a situation where the governor using his principal secretary, Mr. Hilary Ibegbulem, to grab billions of naira contracts to cronies and frontiers. A situation where the speaker, Mr. Monday Igbuya, will be grabbing mouth-watering contracts to his company, as well as the likes of other lawmakers, Mr. Micheal Diden, Mrs. Omawunmi Udoh, Mr. Dennis Omovie and Ibori’s daughter, Erhiatake Ibori, each grabbing mouth-watering contracts, indicates that Delta state is finished.

The director alleged that also in the budget, through the DESOPADEC MD, Mr. Makinde, a whopping sum of N350 million was allocated to James Ibori, private university, Western Delta University (WDU) at Oghara outside the quarterly N350 million being pumped into Ibori’s Independent Newspapers.

He said the executive director, finance and administration, Mr. Ogieh, in connivance with the MD, has almost a whopping N1 billion to buy Hilux and other vehicles for personal use.

In another development, Justice A. S. Umar of the FCT High Court has granted bail to Usman Jibrin, a former chief of naval staff, and two retired rear admirals, Bala Mshelia and Sheu Ahmadu. The decision was taken today, on Wednesday, September 28, in Maitama.

The trio were detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged criminal conspiracy and fraud on Tuesday, September 27.

According to the anti-craft agency, the former naval chiefs allegedly bought a house worth N600million from the account of Naval Engineering Services without declaring the purchase in the budget. All of them were in office at the time of the bargain.

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