Embattled Asaba Airport Contractor, Delta Assembly C’ttee Chairman In Bribery Scandal Over Contract Probe

A fresh can of worms have been opened over the ongoing probe of the failed Asaba International Airport contract as well as the Mariam Babangida Way and Sector “C” of the Asaba – Ughelli roads constructions being handled by indigenous contractor, ULO Consultant Limited.

Recall that in the past few weeks the Delta State government and the contracting firm handling the construction works at the Airport project have been trading blames over the alleged shoddy execution of runway project at the Airport.

The Airport project, built at a cost of over N26 billion, under ex-Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in 2008 had suffered a major setback when the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) downgraded it in 2015 as the state government failed to fix key infrastructure, including repairs of the uneven runways, perimeter fencing, drainage as well as lack of adequately trained technical personnel.

However, BigPen Online learnt that the embattled contractor handling the contract which is currently under investigation by the Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Uche Okpunor has accused the House Committee chairman on Work of allegedly demanding bribe from him to rest the probe.

According to Okpunor, in an interview granted to Guardian Newspaper, the Assembly Committee chairman, Hon. (Chief) Evance Ochuko Ivwurie had allegedly made some “unholy demand” on him so that he can be given a soft landing in the ongoing investigation.

Okpunor, in the excerpt of the interview had asserted that the Delta State House Assembly Committee on Works angrily ordered him to refund N7.4 billion paid to his company for the Asaba – Ughelli road dualisation project for non-performance because he “refused to accede to unholy demands” from Ivwurie.

The contractor who recently announced that he was pulling out of the Airport contract alleged that he has video footage in which Ivwurie made the demand and threatened to release the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage to the public anytime.

But in a lengthy rejoinder, obtained by BigPen Online, Ivwurie who gave a graphic details of what transpired between him and Okpunor since the oversight function by the Assembly on the Airport contract started, said that he “did not at any time place any demand holy or unholy, on Mr Uche Luke Okpunor of ULO Consultants Limited for personal gains or gratification whether with respect to my work as the Chairman of the Committee or in any other respect whatsoever”.

“Such demands as allegedly claimed by him could only have been made in his own imaginations.

“I urge him to explain what he meant by “unholy demands” and I also dare him to make such footage public now and without delay, if they do exist, just as I have made public his text messages to me, offering me and my Committee “Welfare Package” to compromise us which I rejected in my reply text to him”.

“Majority of Deltans know that there is nothing beyond this subterfuge contractor and are well aware of the various plots and plans of this failed contractor against me for daring to investigate the contracts in question.

“Certainly, his allegations are not only laughable, but portray the antics and desperation of one whose reprehensible acts are suddenly brought to light.

“They are nothing but the last kick of a dying horse. In actual fact, the said allegation is a shameful attempt to turn the truth on its head.

“This is a classic case of the culprit playing the victim as a strategy to distract and hopefully derail the on-going investigation by the DTHA Committee on Works aimed at unravelling the reasons behind and exposing all non-performing contractors who with impunity abandon contracts awarded to them after receiving humongous payments from the State’s treasury, thereby undermining the government and people of Delta State.

“As Chairman, Delta State House of Assembly Committee on Works, I and the dedicated members of the Committee vowed as a point of duty to all Deltans irrespective of party affiliations, that we would perform our oversight functions on project execution as awarded by the Delta State government, without fear or favour.

“We have been diligent in living up to this vow as of today, but it seems some unscrupulous persons for obvious reasons feels threatened by our good work thus far.

He said that several efforts by the committee to Okpunor to make himself available proir to the visit of the committee to project site was thwarted by the contractor who repeatedly give excuses

According to him, Okpunor later resorted to campaign of calumny against Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the Committee hoping that same would derail them after they had discovered to their chagrin during the inspections, assessments and evaluation that Okpunor has been evasive because he has not performed efficiently on the contracts and he has abandoned the projects after collecting billions of naira.

He said that Okpunor like other defaulting contractors was given the opportunity to explain themselves but he wilfully refused to honour three (3) invitations instead he dropped the name of Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo and Petroleum Minister, Ibe Kachikwu, apparently to intimidate the committee.

“He has repeatedly given excuses of either being with or about to board a flight with and fly in the private jet of Honourable Minister Kachikwu Ibe or dropped the name of the respected Vice President (VP) Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) recklessly with the assertion that they are friends and classmates from Igbobi College and the VP calls him daily and does business with him; as such, he is so busy and unable to honour such invitations.

Continuing, he said that the first time he spoke to and met Okpunor was on Wednesday 15, November 2017 when he (Okpunor) called dropping the names of Vice President and Petroleum Minister that he had engagement with the duo as such he is not participating in the first inspection of Thursday 16, November 2017.

“Being a Committee with human face, I personally met him and told him point blank that he must not fail to personally join us at the Asaba International Airport site at 9:00am the next day for the inspection so that he can brief the Committee on what he claimed was his side of the story.

“But rather than make himself available, he sent me an SMS on November 16, 2017 at about 9:24am while the inspection was going on.

Okpunor’s text to Ivwurie reads thus:

“Good morning honourable, For your information only. Me and the SPD have arranged a welfare package. My boy would deliver it today after the inspection. His name is Jerome.”

Ivwurie’s reply?

“I replied him immediately I saw the message at 11:41am which was after the inspection, and my text reads:

“Thank you very much for the offer sir, but am not interested in taking any money from you sir.”

However, “In a volte-face only typical of the timeless and vintage Uche Luke Okpunor, at about 5:46pm on the same day, he curiously and iniquitously replied me in another SMS, and his text reads:

“Good evening honourable, Plz, am just seeing your text message. I didn’t remember offering you any money. I hope nobody did on my behalf.”

“I immediately ignored his text as I imagined that he is a highly skilled ‘actor’ and ‘capone’.

“The general public would be surprised to know that when his attempts to compromise the Committee failed, he resorted to character assassination and made threats to my life.

“He directly boasted to me on the phone, on 27th and 28thNovember, 2017 that he will stop at nothing to deal with me and crush me.

“On the basis of his threat on me, I have directed my lawyers and they are currently reviewing Luke Uche Okpunor’s threats to my life and his aspersion on my integrity.

“When you offered me and our Committee your “welfare package” I rejected it via a replied text message because your treachery and sharp practices has caused untold pains and deaths to Deltans whom you deprived the use of the various projects you failed to deliver after receiving payments.

“I can’t take a dime from you because of the agony you have put our people and government through” the lawmaker added.

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