Professional Bodies Call For Probe Of Alleged N600bn Delta Govt’s Debt Burden

The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Delta State Chapter, has call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Crimes Commission (ICPC) to probe the financial debt profile of Delta state Government.

The group said that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state on assumption of office allegedly claimed that he inherited about N600billion debt profile from his predecessor but has swept the matter under the carpet without telling Deltans how he reached the figures.

BigPen Online recalls that the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) had put Delta state debt profile as at December 2016 to the tune of N331.95 billion but Okowa said what he inherited as debt burden was over N600billion.

Though this controversial figures has been a subject of debate and has since been dismissed and refuted by immediate past Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, State Chairman of APBN, John Aikpokpo-Martins, a lawyer, who briefed newsmen on Friday in Warri, Delta state, said that the issue needed to be revisited as the alleged debt profile was a “monumental disaster” that has mortgage the future of Deltans.

Aikpokpo-Martins who was flanked by other members of the association, said that the huge debt profile of the state was drawing back the wheel of progress in the state.

According to him, if not for the huge debt profile, and white elephant projects, abandoned all over the state, the government would have gone far in its infrastructural development.

The group alleged that projects like the Warri Industrial Park, Oleri Park, Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, and Asaba International Airport started by Uduaghan but were either abandoned or had failed were “huge waste drain pipe” that were reportedly used to fleece the lean resources of the state.

However, APBN said that a lot of things are wrong in the state because successive governments had failed to come out with a executable masterplan for the development of the state.

The group said such plan can be marshal out if the state government convoke a state conference of all the ethnic nationalities in the state to chant the way forward for the development of the state.

“Delta State is suffering from lack of continuity of projects, that’s why we have abandoned projects all over the place.

In view of this, “we are calling for a summit of the people of Delta state regardless of anyone’s political affiliations. We call for national conference so why can’t we hold a state conference where we can chant the way forward for this state and come out with a short, medium and long term master development plan so that any government that comes in can follow that plan where the last administration stops.

Continuing, the group noted that the state government has failed in its electioneering promises to ensure “prosperity for all Deltans”, through its “SMART” agenda, saying that what Deltans have gotten from Okowa so far is “abject poverty”.

“The main electoral campaign promises of the present administration in Delta State was “prosperity for all Deltans”, what the average Deltans is experiencing today however, is “abject poverty”.

Furthermore, APBN also accused Governor Okowa for allegedly awarding road construction contracts to mushroom contractors who end up executing shoddy jobs and abandoning such project to the detriment of Deltans.

“It is not all about awarding contracts, you award contract to mushroom contractors, shovel and wheelbarrow contractors and you expect the roads to last?

“We must as a people insist on best practice in contract award and execution of such contracts, otherwise we would keep having problems of failed roads and abandoned projects”.

He also decried the situation where state governments revoke contract already mobilize with 50 percent funding paid to the contractors under the guise of shoddy execution, saying that such development which is prevalent in Delta State amount to scamming the state government.

Continuing, Aikpokpo-Martins who said the media chat was part of APBN’s “appraisal of Delta state at 26”, lamented that Okowa’s administration has failed to provide infrastructures and maintain existing ones from decaying in the state, also decrying the state government failure to manage a waste disposal scheme in the state.

“Delta state is so unplanned, Warri in particular is very dirty and this suppose to be a hub of Delta state. Our comedians are trying to rebrand Warri, they have really tried but the government is failing to take it up by rebranding the city”, Aikpokpo-Martins said.

He also frowned at Okowa’s over bloated numbers of aides whom according to him, was the reasons why the Governor is “starving” other arms of government of funds including the State House of Assembly which ought to be independent in its funding.

While enjoining the governor to ensure constant payment of salaries of workers, APBN boss urged Okowa to cut down the number of his aides as well as release funds for the payment of workers salaries in the State.

“Cut down the number of your aides so that workers can be paid as at when due. It does not add value to the States.”

Meanwhile, Delta State government had earlier denied allegations of poor performance by the Okowa led administration saying, as at August that, the state government has succeeded in offsetting the debt burden of the state to N500 billion.

Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okowa, Mr. Charles Ehiedu Aniagwu, had told newsmen that Okowa’s administration would remain committed to bringing prosperity to the people of Delta and urged Deltans to avoid engaging in acts capable of heating up the polity ahead of the 2019 general elections.

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