BEVERLY HILLS, January 13, (THEWILL) – Delta state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa yesterday held a closed-door meeting with the Chairman and Management of the Delta State Oil Producing Development Commission, DESOPADEC, over an alleged budget passage scandal rocking the oil commission and the state House of Assembly, THEWILL can authoritatively report.
The meeting which lasted for several hours was attended by the Speaker of the Delta state House of Assembly, Hon Monday Igbuya who an informed source at DESOPADEC claim was demanding about N1bn bribe before the oil commission’s budget can be passed.
Though details of the closed door meeting were not made public, a Government House source who preferred anonymity revealed that Okowa used the meeting to express displeasure over media reports that allegations of bribery over budget passage was rocking the oil commission and the House leadership.
The Governor was said to have been worried that the newly constituted DESOPADEC management led by the board chairman, Mr. Godwin Ebosa and the Managing Director, Olorogun Williams Makinde have been enmeshed in series of alleged financial impropriety and funds which is generating bad blood between oil producing ethnic nationalities in the state.
Dependable sources told THEWILL that Okowa also expressed concerns over the posture of the state House of Assembly leadership with regards to issues of finance of inter-governmental agencies, stressing that the current financial crunch being faced across the nation should not lure public office holders to engage in illegality.
The source revealed that the Governor spoke about harmonious working relationship between the legislature, executive and the commission with the view to delivering dividends of his “prosperity for all” agenda to the people.
The Governor also expressed dismay at the way and manners some DESOPADEC’s board members had corruptly handled some money made available for empowerment and other purposes in the commission before the Christmas period, stating that this has become a subject of discussion in public domain.
The source continued that one of the issues that came up was the alleged refusal by the new management of the commission to share part of its monthly security votes with the House of Assembly leadership which has always been the tradition of the past leadership of the commission.
A top official at the meeting who preferred anonymity revealed that, “The House leadership, without any shame told the governor that one of their grievances is the refusal of the current leadership of the commission not to share with them a part of the security votes money which has always been the practice of previous leadership of the commission. The House said the commission refused to give them money for the Christmas as it has always been.
“The House also said before now the leadership of the House has always gotten N250 million monthly as share from the commission monthly security votes but now nothing is been remitted to the House any more. But the governor pleaded with the House to soft pedal for now and that what is due them will always be given them.”
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