As mixed reactions continue to trail Delta state governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa’s investment drive to China”, HardReporters can authoritatively reports that several millions of naira tax payers money has been wasted and pocketed through “Estacode”, all in the name of wooing investors to the state.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state,
Governors of Zamfara State ( Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari); Sokoto (Aminu Tambuwal); Benue (Samuel Ortom ); Plateau (Simon Lalong ); Kwara (Abdulfatah Ahmed); Ebonyi (David Umahi ) and Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Nkem Okeke who is representing Governor Willie Obiano are currently in China for a Jamboree they tagged “1st Nigeria-China Governors’ Investment Forum In China”, to woo investors for their respective states.
In the entourage of governor Okowa, HardReporters was made to understand that apart from the commissioner for finance, Mr. David Edevbie, who is from Delta central senatorial district of the state, the rest officials are the governor’s cabals selected from Delta North senatorial district among whom is Mr. Kingsley Emu, Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr. Hilary Ibegbulam, Okowa’s principal secretary, Mr. Sylvester Monye, SSA to Okowa.
Others are Mr. Lawrence Osiegbu, Okowa’s blood cousin and chairman, QueensBridge Capital Investment Ltd, handling the multimillion naira fast track 90 contract, in charge of issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), a firm allegedly been used by the governor to exploit Deltans and launder money, Mr. Victor Onyemachi Nwokolo, member, representing Ika federal constituency, Federal House of Representatives and Mr. Clement Ofuani, DG, Delta Capital Territory Development Agency,(DCTDA) among others.
Governor Okowa was quoted as saying “I am here in China for serious business and not for sight seeing. I am not here for tea party. I am here to search everywhere in Beijing to engage investors, manufacturers, big time farmers and prime companies that we can partner with; to help us revolutionize Delta State economy and turn our state to a super and prosperous economic hub.”
Independent investigation carried out by HardReporters revealed that governor Okowa lied to Deltans that his April, 2017 investment drive to far away Beijing, China was his first, meanwhile records available to this medium shown that in August, 2016, Governor Okowa was among the governors of Plateau, Zamfara, Osun, Jigawa and Anambra, (Simon Lalong, Abubakar Yari, Rauf Aregbesola, Abubakar Badaru and Willie Obiano,) that visited China for the same jamboree investment drive, while the Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose visited in April and his Kwara counterpart Abdulfatah Ahmed visited in June all in 2016 to woo investors for their respective states.
Disputing the current China visit as the first, governor Okowa was embarking on, a member of the governor’s entourage who spoke on phone with HardReporters on condition of anonymity said, its also on record that President Muhammadu Buhari had in April, 2016 visited China along with some governors, including Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Badaru (Jigawa) and Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), and many ministers.
According to the official, it will be a blatant lie for anybody to say that this current China visit was the first to be embarked on by the governor, querying that how many of the governors that has been able to impact positively on their various states the dividends of their visit to China, adding that “I am afraid but must be quick to tell you that what is happening here is not far from Jamboree. The other day, everybody including the governor came out to be watching rice harvesting machine and I asked myself what nonsense is this. Some of the persons on the governor’s entourage has no business to be here. Its all waste of funds I must say.”
In a chat with HardReporters correspondent, a government house source, who is not happy with the China jamboree, said governor Okowa decided to dominate his entourage with his cabals as majority of whom on the entourage has no single economic value to the state than the Estacode they will pocket, describing the visit as waste of tax payers money and pure jamboree.
“I can tell you that the China visit is nothing but Jamboree, just to waste tax payers money. If you check very well you will see that some of the persons in the governor’s entourage has no business been in China, their traveling to China at the expense of the state has no single economic value to the state. What can the governor show to Deltans that in my first trip to China in August, 2016, this was what it gave birth to.
“And this is April, 2017, you carry your bag and embarked on the same visit to China when the first and second visits have not yielded any fruit for the people to see. This is all jamboree and another avenue to collect ESTACODE at the expense of the state. Calculate the Estacode each person will collect which at the end of the day will be running into several millions of naira and yet you complained here and there that there’s no money. For some of us we will continue to sound it that Okowa was worst mistake ever made by Deltans.” our source said.
Our source therefore challenge governor Okowa to explain to Deltans the economic value of the house of representatives member representing Ika federal constituency and other persons in his entourage to the state as well as impacts of the previous investment drive to China in the time past.
Also reacting to the governor Okowa’s China jamboree, a Warri based human rights legal practitioner, Mr. Omemiroro Maxwell Ogedegbe wrote on his Facebook with the titled “A Clown as Delta state governor” saying that “When the rumoured trip of Mr. Governor was made public with his media aides harassing us claiming the trip was in furtherance of his smart agenda.”
According to the lawyer, he took out time to follow only to see the smart agenda was even crippled as the governor alongside some politicians who by their built could be seen to be very empty acting as first Nigeria China’s governors forum with the governor and his co travellers inspecting a rice harvesting machine.
“The man left his busy business of governance to inspect a rich harvesting machine. This is about the third time Mr. Governor and his cronies are arranging for unprofitable submit whenever they feel like holidaying and tricking deltans to believe it is for our common good. What has been the outcome of previous visit to China where Mr. Governor had goon with a proverbial plate like bambiala of old to be for partners to come invest in Delta state. What a governor. This is Africa Magic indeed.”
Several calls put to the mobile line of the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Charles Aniagwu and the information commissioner, Mr. Patrick Ukah by our correspondent were rebuffed as at the time of filing in this report.
