ANAYO EZUGWU Dr Kingsley Emu is the Secretary to the Delta State Government. In this interview he speaks on allegations of corruption against the immediate past governor of the state, Ifeanyi Okowa, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes
There are concerns over N1.3 trillion derivation fund, N40 billion used to buy shares in a bank and N4 billion that disappeared into some investment in liquefied natural gas. What is the position of the Delta State government on these allegations against former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa?
All of those allegations are pretty spurious. You can’t even be talking about N1.3 trillion when the total receipt was about N2.65 trillion. So, you’re talking about 50 per cent of it diverted. That’s not possible, they cannot be substantiated and they can never be substantiated.
That is out of the character of Dr. Okowa, who is extremely passionate, who is a grassroots politician, who is wellconnected with the people, very connected with their challenges, and therefore, is concerned about their welfare. Certainly, the allegations are not true. We can’t find that in our books.
I can tell you, given my vantage position here, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been writing letters to inspect and verify some of the projects that most of these alleged funds were attached to. And I dare say that they have been very satisfactory because they are physical projects. You can feel them.
You can see them. For a governor, who awarded over 2,000 kilometres of road and 1,400 kilometres of drains, about 50-60 per cent of them completed before his exit, you can’t be looking for such an amount of money.
For a governor who set up three universities in the states, and they are running pretty well, with over 10,500 entrants, you can’t say so. With all the physical infrastructure there, you cannot say so. For a governor who invested a lot in human capital, you can’t even dare say so.
Over 15,000 entrepreneurs were established within the period under review because I was an integral part of that administration. Over 250,000 direct jobs were created, and over 1.5 million indirect jobs arose from the numerous interventions. So, it cannot and can never be true.
It can never be substantiated. We have major and humongous projects that we did within that period and they are there for everybody to see. Certainly, the biggest error is the concern of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s government. The concern about it is that it’s a major investment in our portfolio, and NLNG is the first-ever private initiative in Nigeria.
The $40 billion was given out through loans. The transaction was pre-qualified by a financial advisor and S&Young was the financial adviser for that project.
And with a project that has Woodson Mackenzie looking at the economics of it, and then has Technip Energies and JGC. These two organisations were responsible for the Nigerian NLNG, and Nigerian LNG.
Okowa has a good history, a good record and a good reputation countrywide, but everybody has an enemy, worse off, especially when you’re in politics
And our concern is that you shouldn’t even dare impugn the integrity of that investment. That investment, yes, $40 billion, but today on paper, yes on paper, it’s only $100 billion in terms of valuation.
That was the first major entry point for us, and we reaped significantly from it. How did we reap from it? Yes, it’s in the offshore of Akwa Ibom. It’s not on our offshore. But we have 40 per cent total proven gas reserve in Nigeria. It’s in Delta State and we’re very excited.
So, let’s dig deeper into this, who are these people who are pushing this agenda of hate against Okowa and to what end?
They are unknown political jobbers and they are faceless. They are using cheap propagandists to do the job. They should be man enough or woman enough, whichever is applicable, to try and attempt to show their face.
Senator Okowa has been to EFCC, and EFCC has the right to do every kind of interrogation. But the media trial is even the most worrisome aspect of all of these challenges.
That is a governor that between 2018 and 2021, under the CFTAS, was awarded the best, very good overall on CFTAS in South-South, was awarded excellence on physical transparency and accountability, and was awarded very good on public expenditure. This is the World Bank.
This is apart from the numerous other awards that were bestowed on him, arising from his physical discipline. That physical discipline has been the legacy for us.
We all know that this letter came from Pa E.K. Clark, where he talked about the N1.7 trillion and he said instead of paying 50 per cent of the N1.7 trillion to the DESOPADEC as provided by law, which is automatic, Okowa now held the 13 per cent fund, the entire money dishing out instrumentally and approving every contract the DESOPADEC had awarded. Can you respond to this?
We go through appropriation in awarding contracts, and we’re guided by appropriation until tomorrow. The DESOPADEC is a well-structured organisation, and I expect them to go through due process in the award of contracts. So, that cannot be true.
They can also run on free will, because they must be guided, just to ensure that the fiscal discipline that they were pursuing or were adhered to strictly at the state level, trickle down to all those agencies.
They’re absolutely an agency of government. So, those appropriations are right. If you go to the oilproducing areas, you will see major road constructions, bridges, and riverine areas.
We have only over 331 kilometres of roads in all riverine areas. In those areas, we have significant improvements. So, if he has alleged, he has the onus to prove that. But I think that at the end of the day, yes, it’s a very responsible organisation, and I’m sure they’re interrogating that.
They will also be bound or guided by law, and that’s exactly what it is. But I do not think, so because Pa E.K. Clark is a very respected elder. He does not involve himself in frivolous discussions. If he’s misguided, that is unfortunate. But he’s somebody that will never agree to that.
Governor Okowa after his release from EFCC detention through his spokesperson has said this matter is political and that it will not discourage him from supporting the administration of Governor Oborevwori. As somebody who is an insider in Delta State, how political do you think this is?
Yes, from the allegations on expenditure, and the projects that most of these resources were tied to. This is political because the diversion could come in different ways. But to say that they were taken totally and completely to build private estates and for personal gains is one wrong assertion that anybody would have made. Those are frivolous allegations
. If they are saying that it was designed for the DESOPADEC strictly, they should get themselves aligned with the appropriation law. I think that those are the issues. They are certainly not, for me, they are strictly political. They are targeted at 2027, and targeted at impugning the personality of Okowa.
A governor that grew the economy and our GDP that was N2.9 trillion in 2015 by 60 per cent, to N4.87 trillion in 2022 is not somebody you can impugn. In 2020, we’re the second least poor state in the country, only to Lagos according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
How would you say that this is linked to 2027, when even the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is practically in disarray at the national level? Or are you saying he’s been persecuted because he was a vice presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections?
I am not making blanket statements. Okowa’s character is impeccable; that is the target. Okowa has a good history, a good record and a good reputation, countrywide but everybody has an enemy, worse off, when you’re in politics.
When things happen, a lot of things can change, a lot of narratives but everybody has his day in court. Those who are truly aggrieved should go to court and prove those allegations.
It’s not about their allegations. We’re not going to sit back here and say because some faceless people have embarked on a campaign of calumny, they are political. what is not political? His service for eight years is political. His sojourn in politics in the last 30 years is political.
So, the word political has assumed different and amorphous meanings in the Nigerian context. So, clearly, yes, as a major grassroots person who is very connected to the grassroots. You can see those visits to him when he came back are not just set-up or stage-managed visits. So, he has laid a solid foundation, for us to run on.
As I speak to you, over 513 road projects are on. 377 are those created by him that Governor Sheriff has inherited. Governor Sheriff has also done 136 new road projects, which translates to about 332.7 kilometres of road and then 233 kilometres of drains.
We are focusing on development. He laid those foundations. If those 377 kilometres of roads were not road projects, we are not there, about 700 and something kilometres of the length of road. We wouldn’t even have where to start from.
Can you help us unpack this piece of information that many of those who served under Okowa are in hiding as we speak?
That’s very strange. That’s not to my knowledge. I served under him. Several of them served under him. I was Commissioner for Economic Planning. I was the Chief Economic Adviser.
I was central to a lot of projects, especially the UTM projects that have earned a global accord in terms of commendation coming from here.
I’m not aware, and I am also not sure, because the EFCC has a way of declaring people wanted if they can’t find them. Who has been declared wanted? It’s not just about people spewing stories and doing their trials. That is not the case.
Pa E.K. Clark also said that Okowa violated the law by the DESOPADEC law and he also talked about the $5 billion paid to pensioners. What’s your response to all of these?
In all of these, EFCC is already reviewing and investigating this case. The truth will come out anytime soon. Most of those who reeled out there are well-known government contractors. And they’re not in hiding and I maintain that EFCC has not declared anybody wanted.
At least if the EFCC is carrying on with a major investigation of this nature, which has been on for over four years, the EFCC should have declared some of them wanted. I’m sure you know that we have a huge infrastructural decay in Nigeria.
And the states are not spared, because they are part of the federating areas. We cannot, in eight years, not even as audacious as Governor Sheriff is, with road infrastructure, like I’ve mentioned several projects that he has embarked on, and some that he has awarded, he will still have a lot of deficits at the end of the day.
We cannot take on all the roads. We just cannot take on all the projects, because we don’t have resources. Our budgets are based on fiscal strategy paper. And you can only budget what you think you can receive within the fiscal year, or the current fiscal year.
And that’s all. So, for Tutu Jeremy, it will get. But there are very many other roads in the Tutu Jeremy axis. Issues of the flood are related to aggravating climate change and issues of flood are not within the control of the state government. The state government can only ameliorate.
Issues of dams being opened or dredging of the River Niger not being done is not within the purview of the states. Recently, we did so much to protect our people from the surging erosion. Some of them are flash floods. So, I am convinced that all of those areas will be addressed, but not in one group.
Road infrastructure will remain an anchor of this administration because it opens up the rural areas. We’re also not unmindful of the decayed environment in terms of infrastructure
You worked under Senator Okowa, have you visited him since all these developed and what is his mood? Senator Okowa is very strong, upbeat and very confident because the world knows that 90 per cent, if not all, 100 per cent of all of those allegations are lies.
There may be human errors. But it does not mean that he deliberately, if at all, did any of those things to undermine the enormous responsibility and trust in him. He has even spoken.
He spoke to people and that’s consistent with what he feels and how he feels. He has told me so much about that subject and I know so much too. For every document that has come through me, I know that there are positive responses towards them.
So I’m very clear about it. It’s just a matter of time at this point. Seizure of a passport is a precautionary measure taken by EFCC. He walked himself into EFCC on the invitation. Not by declaration. Or arrest, as was alleged.
The maximum they could have done would have been, oh, he was detained overnight to complete the process of investigation. Not arrest, which is a misnomer. So, clearly, Okawa is a nice man. So clearly, for other parts of Delta that have not been reached, I have just mentioned that Governor Sheriff is doing major audacious projects.
I don’t want to talk about Warri and Julius Berger but we have projects traversing five local government areas 30.5 kilometres of road have been awarded.
So, it’s going to be turn by turn and gradually, we creep into those areas to make sure that we have done that. In this year’s appropriations sent to the House of Assembly, we have seen a whopping $230 billion provided for road infrastructure.
That tells you the premium we placed on that. And that’s close to 50 per cent of the capital budget of $583 billion that was sent to the House. So, road infrastructure will remain an anchor of this administration because it opens up the rural areas. We’re also not unmindful of the decayed environment in terms of infrastructure and we continue to open those areas.
When you open those areas, you stem rural-urban migration. You begin to create new cities. And begin to make those areas attractive because that’s where you truly have the land.
A lot is going on for those whose areas are under the water. In Warri, for instance, the storm drainage started by Okowa has been finished by Governor Oborevwori, while phase two and phase three are in the works.
And when he called his budget, a Budget of Physical Consolidation, that’s exactly what he meant, carrying on 377 road projects and completing 136 in 18 months. That is enormous for anybody to look at.
So, it’s a matter of time. Governor Oborevwori has promised to do more and he will do, in my estimation, greater. He is not somebody who around speaking about what he does. But I’m sure that very soon, he will grant us the privilege to talk to him about his activities and achievements as we approach the second year in office. And I dare say it’s going to be humongous.
