Barely seven days after Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was asked to resign due to cut in the salary of civil servants on salary grade levels 7-17, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has allegedly opened investigation on him, according to report.
Aside the state governor, the anti-graft agency is also investigating 27 others following a 48 page petition written against them by the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress Party (APC), which was accompanied with supporting documents and bank details of some of the persons mentioned.
According to the report, the petition was submitted in April 2020, but was purportedly swept under the carpet by the former EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, who sat on the petition from getting investigated, despite the weighty allegations.
It was gathered that the petition is currently been looked into by the legal department of the Commission, following a directive by the new Acting Chairman.
It was gathered that the EFCC is curious to know how a whooping sum of N150 million was used to buy a Lexus 570 armored car 2016 model in the same year for Gov. Okowa when the car is actually valued for N98 million in the year it was sold.
According to the petitioners, the governor had allegedly wasted state funds on the 10th September 2015 to the tune of N254.1 million to buy himself two official cars, when the same cars were sold for N173 million in the same year, while his crony, Ross Uredi supplied at inflated rates vehicles worth N741 million for lawmakers in 2015 and N452. 7 million also paid to same Ross to buy cars for Commissioners in the same year.
Also listed in the petition is the sprawling seven storey state secretariat under construction by the state government, which the governor’s elder and junior sisters are the sole contractors, determining who gets things done in the place.
The project which was initially valued for N13.6 billion has been allegedly jacked up to over N16 billion without due process.
It was learnt that the contractor purportedly got the award based on nepotism as the state job is the biggest they have ever embarked on since they were formed.
It was gathered that all those mentioned in the petition would soon be invited to the headquarters as soon as they are done with their fact findings.
At press time, text message sent to the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), to the goverrnor, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika, to get the side of the governor, was not replied.
