* Vows To Prosecute Offenders Of Indiscriminate Wastes Disposal
Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, Tuesday inspected the controversial N13.6 billion new state secretariat complex allegedly awarded to himself and being executed through his sister, Ivana Shenton and cronies with the intentions to use proceeds from the contract to prosecute his reelection in 2019.
HardReporters reliably gathered as reported that Governor Okowa, his sister, Ivana Shenton, Secretary to the State Government, (SSG), Festus Ovie Agas, Commissioner for Special Duties, Government House, Asaba, Henry Sakpra, a former Zenith Bank manager, Osadebe Osakwe and others were indicted in a N13.6 billion fraud scandal related to a new secretariat complex being built by the state.
According to sources, the governor awarded the contract for the new central secretariat complex to North China Construction Company Nigeria Limited (NCCG) which allegedly has the governor’s sister, Ivana Shenton and former Zenith Bank manager, Osadebe Osakwe as ‘frontiers.’, while investigation revealed that North China Construction Nigeria Limited was registered two years before the emergence of Okowa as a governor with Corporate Affairs Commission registration number, RC 1113315, and being managed by Osadebe Osakwe, the former Zenith Bank manager who is also a strong ally of the Delta governor.
Inspecting the new secretariat and the multi-billion naira storm drainage projects in the state capital, the governor explained that the projects embarked by his administration were designed to stand the test of time and ensure that Asaba is free of flood, expressing satisfaction with the pace of work done so far.
“I visit the site regularly (new secretarial project) and that shows the level of importance the project is to us, we are committed to executing the project as we believe it will solve a lot of housing needs of our Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
“Though the contractor has 18 months to deliver on the project, (Drainage) from what we can see with the level of work done so far, the project will be delivered in 12 months, so, the people will only suffer the effects of flood only in this rainy season. These projects were designed to stand the test of time, the storm drainage project will empty flood water from Mariam Babangida, WAEC and DBS Roads to the Anwai River.”
On the issue of people dropping their household wastes into the drainages which could lead to blockage if not cleared, Governor Okowa stated, “the Ministry of Environment has already mapped out holistic solutions to the discharge of wastes in Asaba, there will be revenue courts to try those who will dump their refuse indiscriminately and we are confident that once that is in place, people will restrain from engaging in illegal disposal of wastes.
“The drainages are also, being constructed with means of controlling wastes that will empty into the underground sewage, we don’t want to experience flood in Asaba again after this period,” the Governor said.
Project Manager of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Mr Jihad Yaghi who expressed joy that Governor Okowa was encouraging them to speedily execute their job, disclosed that to enable them work during the rain season, they will use precast drains to ensure that their activities does not affect other residence of the town.
“The precast will be used during the rain, we will excavate step by step, you excavate like 20 metres and fix the precast, with such, you control the effect of the rain,” he said.
