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.
Culled from First Weekly Magazine
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