*Tompolo, Ejele Get N50 Million Each Every Month For “Waterways Security”
The Managing Director, Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, (DESOPADEC), Williams Makinde was said to have chickened out when governor Ifeanyi Okowa dared him to declare true figures of the controversial June allocation released to the commission.
It would be recalled that last month, management of the commission was reportedly unhappy with governor Ifeanyi Okowa over the release of a paltry N500 million out of the N4.5 billion 50% of 13% derivation funds due the state for the month of June to the commission, but the state government through the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Charles Aniagwu dismissed the claim, saying the governor released the sum of N1.650 billion to the commission.
According to a commissioner in the board, face-off between the commission’s MD and the governor, started last month when the MD returned from his foreign trip and discovered a short fall in the N1.650 billion the governor claimed to have been released to the commission.
Giving a break down of the figures released by the governor, the commissioner who don’t want his name mentioned said “The breakdown of the N1.650 billion the governor said he released to us goes this way. N300 million from May 2017 allocation was released by the governor in July as if it was from June allocation. He then released N350 million from June allocation as an addition, making a total of N650 million in July also for salaries.
“Following the protest of contractors who have been owed various sums of money, the governor released another N500 million to pay some contractors selected by him, out of over N10 billion owed by the commission to contractors. In order to secure the support of traditional rulers in the state, the governor released another N500 million through the commission which he directed should be shared among some selected traditional rulers for the renovation of their palaces.
“Though this money did not get to the Managing Director who was away before it was routed to the beneficiary traditional rulers. The tradition ruler of Gbaramatu kingdom got N100 million, the Ovie of Ughelli, Oharisi 111, got N50 million and few others like that. The governor added the N500 million to make up his claim of releasing N1.650 billion to the commission.” the commissioner stated, “Upon the MD return from abroad, he confronted the governor that he only got N1.150 billion instead of N1.650 billion. But the governor, asked the MD to dare him and make public that he only collected N1.150 billion instead of N1.650 billion and the MD chickened out.”
A staff familiar with financial transactions in the commission also revealed to our correspondent how the governor has been shortchanging the Urhobo, Isoko and Ndokwa nationalities in the commission through fraudulent release of funds to former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo and the member representing Warri North constituency, in the state legislature, Mr. Michael Diden, aka Ejele, under the guise of waterways security.
“This is what has been going on in the commission that is not known to so many people. For the the past two years, Tompolo, and Ejele have been collected N50 million each under what is tagged waterways security fund. The duo have been collecting N100 million steadily every month through the commission. But recently, some Urhobo representatives in the commission got wind of the whole thing.
“And they approached the Urhobo Progress Union President-General, Moses Taiga and some members of his exco, since March 2017, so that they could reach out to the Governor to extend the largesse to Urhobo mandate areas. But up till now, the UPU President-General and his exco have not come up with any result. May be they have not summon the courage to approach the governor or may have been settled too by the governor.” our source said.
Records have shown that from May, 2015 when Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa assumed office as governor of Delta state to June, 2017, he collected a total of N126,567,637,919.54 as 13% derivation fund from the Federation Account Allocation Commission (FAAC) and fifty percent of this figure which amounts to N63,283,818,959.73 ought to accrued to the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission which has not been the case.
HardReporters further gathered that, apart from December 2015, the governor released N10 billion, he has been releasing only N300 million to the commission for salaries, running of generators and put together, he has only released a total of about N16 billion to the commission since he came to power out of a total of over N63 billion that ought to have gone to the commission for development of the oil communities of the state but decided to divert the money for his personal use.
