As controversy continued to trail the alleged embezzlement of second tranche of Paris Club Refund released to state governors by President Muhammadu Buhari led administration, a non-governmental group, Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC to immediately begin the probe of the alleged embezzlement by the governors.
The call was made Thursday by the National Coordinator of CEPEJ, Sheriff Mulade, during an interaction with members of the Delta state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Warri Correspondents Chapel, Warri, Delta state.
President Muhammadu Buhari had few days ago during meeting with members of the National Council of Traditional Rulers at the new Banquet hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, expressed displeasure over the deliberate failure of some state governors to use the Paris Club Refund to offset backlogs of retirement benefits and outstanding salaries of workers in their various states.
The National Coordinator of CEPEJ, while specifically accusing Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa of diverting N3 billion naira from the second tranche of the Paris Club Refund for unfathomed reasons, claimed that the money was reportedly kept in an escrow account for the purpose of using same to prosecute his reelection.
Mr. Mulade, said the Okowa-led administration need to account for the use of the 13 percent derivation funds of the 50 percent accrued to the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, (DESOPADEC), adding that the call was for the interest of the good people of the state, particularly the oil producing communities, stressing that since Okowa’s administration, DESOPADEC which use to be an interventionist agency has become a lame duck with abandoned projects dotting the communities.
“In Delta State, I am not happy with EFCC because Okowa has not been able to tell us what he is doing or had done with our 13 percent derivation funds. 50 percent of this fund is supposed to be given to DESOPADEC. But today, as I’m talking to you, DESOPADEC had not done any project since 2015. All the projects carried out by DESOPADEC since 2015 are all abandoned projects right now. Today there is no single project in DESOPADEC.
“The State governor has not been able to tell us how he has used the 50 percent that is going to DESOPADEC. So we are using this medium to call on the EFCC to call on Governor Okowa to explained to us what he has done with our money. Most of our communities are suffering right now. We are heading into the last lap of the administration and there is no single project in all the oil producing communities. Unfortunately, most of the projects are awarded on paper, executed on paper and commissioned on paper.” Mulade stated.
The Niger Delta activist and human rights crusader, noted that it was time for the EFCC to beam their searchlight on the 36 state government over the alleged misappropriation of the Paris Club Refund which some state governors reportedly diverted saying that the Governors were reportedly diverting monies released for a specific purpose because they want to impose themselves on the people in 2019 by any all possible means.
“The EFCC had kept mute in some of the issues we have raised, especially on the issues of the diversion of the Paris Funds Refund. Some of these funds have been diverted in Delta State and the state government had not been able to come out openly to debunk it to a reasonable level to calm the people’s minds. We have information that about 3 billion naira of the Paris Club refund had been diverted to a secret account for the 2019 election.
“EFCC has not been able to go to some of these states to find out if these allegations are true or not. If they have not being doing selective investigation and looking for only opposition party, they would have done better than this. but as it is right now it is only those who are not in Good terms with the Federal government that they are going after. So rather than fighting only some few Senators, and opposition party members, they should also visit the 36 states and investigate them.” Mulade said.
On the current security situation in Abia state, Mr. Mulade said the faceoff between the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and the Nigerian Army, was uncalled for and unconstitutional and unacceptable for the military to invade people’s homes unprovoked under the guise of “Operation Python Dance”
