Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of
Delta State has been accused of looting the treasury of the state through
phantom companies.
In a petition titled “How
Uduaghan Is Mortgaging The Future Of Deltans: Part 2,” a group named Movement
For The Protection Of The Rights Of Deltans (MPROD) revealed that they were
“constrained as stakeholders to write the petition on behalf of the vast
majority of Deltans whose future and children's future are still been mortgaged
by the 'fraudulent and rogue' Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.”
The petition was signed by Alanza Moemeke for
Delta North, Ogheneovo Onoseme, Delta Central, and Brisbe Benifa for Delta
South.
The petitioners alleged that they
had expected the governor to focus on administering Delta State, one of
Nigeria's richest states, with the fear of God and for the good of the people
after their first petition.
They accused the governor of being “more
brazen and audacious in stealing the state's funds.” The petition stated:
“Governor Uduaghan does not seem to care what becomes of the state as long as
his selfish motives and ever-expanding appetite for illegal acquisition of
state funds are satisfied. In Six years of his administration, Delta State has
been continuously raped and violated and left to bleed. Things are now so bad
that Deltans have become nostalgic of the Ibori era, with all its atrocities.”
The group further alleged that Mr. Uduaghan
had increased his monthly security vote from N600 million to N2 billion with
nothing to show for it as the state still witnesses an alarming rate of
insecurity.
Uduaghan was of using phantom
companies such as DONPARKER, believed to be owned by one Omatsuli Tuoyo, his
wife's younger brother and the governor's Senior Special Assistant in charge of
Special Duties, to siphon state funds.
The petitioners also accused Uduaghan of using
another relative, Derin Otubu, to launder money. Otubu is said to be the governor's blood
relation, and a cousin to former Governor James Ibori.
His late father, called Papa
Otubu, was the head of the Cherubim and Seraphim in Nigeria. The critics
accused the governor of using Alpha Consortium to acquire Ikoyi Hotel in Lagos,
which has been renamed Southern Sun.
According to them, Mr. Otubu
seconded one Ernest Oji to look after Uduaghan's financial interest in Southern
Sun.
The petitioners alleged that
Uduaghan's government had abandoned the Warri Industrial Park after more than
N3 billion was lavished on it. In addition, they stated that the Oleri Leisure
Park at Udu, in which the state sunk more than N3 billion, has nothing to show
for it, even as the state reportedly continues to pour millions of naira in it.
The petitioners also alleged that
Mr. Uduaghan was becoming even more brazen in misappropriating state funds in
the build-up to 2015. They said the governor shoved aside the due-process
conscious former Commissioner for Finance, Bernard Okumagba, for the more
pliable Mr. Okpara, a former contract staff of the World Bank. Contacted over
the allegations, the state Commissioner of Information, Chike Ogeah, described
them as baseless and without any iota of truth. He said: “Governor Emmanuel
Uduaghan is one person I know that has the full interest of Deltans at heart
and every now and then I keep telling people that Governor Uduaghan will always
be remembered for his visionary leadership.” He said the governor had made an
impact through “his giant strides, human capital development and leadership.”
Mr. Ogeah added that Mr.
Uduaghan's achievements could be seen across the three senatorial districts of
the state. He then challenged the governor's critics to go round the state and
see the massive development that had taken place while some were ongoing.
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