……Lies Okowa Working On Roads In Itsekiri
Delta State Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Mofe Pirah, has castigated the past administration of governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, which he served as Oil and Gas Commissioner claiming that the Uduaghan’s government failed to executive projects in Itsekiri land in his eight in office as a governor.
Mr. Pirah, who inspite of a murder case dangling on his neck was appointment as Oil and Gas by former governor Uduaghan, also claimed governor Okowa has the interest of the Itsekiri than the former government he served in.
The Oil and Gas Commissioner was reacting against the backdrop of a statements credited to Ayiri Emami, the Ologbotsere of Warri that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has neglected the Itsekiri and labeled the Itsekiri in Okowa’s administration as being compromised by “stomach infrastructure”.
Speaking to the Vanguard Newspapers, Pirah said “Dr Ifeanyi Okowa’s government in which I serve has not neglected or sidelined the Itsekiri people on projects. “What school of thought is he coming from? When did he become an APC stalwart? Was the previous administration doing projects? Can he show us the projects that he drove eight years in that government to his Itsekiri enclave? Let’s be factual on sensitive issues having to do with developmental projects.
“Six months to the end of that administration, there was no fund. Allocations went down making it impossible to execute projects and pay salaries. And Okowa inherited that. So the incumbent governor did two and a half years plus paying debts and clearing all the challenges inherited. Again, if you say Okowa has done nothing for Itsekiri, in Ogidigben where I come from, Okowa is doing a 2.5km road. It is ongoing.” Pirah claimed.
Investigation by HardReporters revealed that as claimed by Pirah, there is no single road project of 2.5km that is currently ongoing at Ogidigben in Itsekiri land. Our team of correspondents further discovered that some of the projects mentioned by the oil and gas commissioner in defence of governor Okowa were mere lies to curry favour and retain his position as Okowa has concluded plans to dissolve his cabinet in few weeks to come.
Sources revealed that since inception of the current administration of Okowa, the people of Itsekiri have been marginalised and neglected as a result of political related feud between the incumbent governor and his predecessor.
Speaking with our correspondent, a source in the past administration of governor Uduaghan wondered the claims and castigation against Uduaghan’s government which he served as oil and gas commissioner against all odds.
“Pirah is an ingrate fellow, upon all what former governor Uduaghan did for him as a kinsman, he can still speak ills of the man who fed him and empowered him even when forces were against him, calling that he should not be appointed following a murder case on his head. But, the former governor went against all odds and appointed him. Now, he’s the one turning around to castigate the same man who has done him good all in a bid to retain his position in Okowa’s government.” the former aide said.
It would be recalled that court documents made available to our correspondent, Mr. Pirah and 10 accused persons were summoned from the Court of Appeal in Benin City for the September 1998 murder of Mr. Samuel .A.K Metseagharun in Warri.
In the incident, Mr. Metseagharun, a former chairman and sole administrator of Delta State Board of Inland Revenue and Chairman of the Ugborodo (Escravos) Community Trust Governing Council, was allegedly dragged out of his Mercedes Benz car and beaten to death by a crowd which included Mr. Pirah.
It was gathered that Pirah and others used N300 million to secure favourable court verdict but the Delta state government objected to the verdict of the High Court which dismissed the murder charges against Mr. Pirah and his co-accused, and filed a notice of appeal through its lawyers led by Ighodalo Imadegbelo (SAN).
It was learnt that before Mr. Pirah was made commissioner for “Oil and Gas,” in the past administration, he had boasted on behalf of himself and the other accused persons that there was no threat from the Court of Appeal, claiming that they have reserved N300 million for the judges involved in the case. He also told family members that they gave the same amount to Justice S.A. Ehiwario, who decided the case at the high court in 2007.
