Controversy As Okowa’s Former Aide Debunks Looting Of Delta Deputy Governor’s Office, Lodge

Controversy is currently trailing media report alleging the looting of the Office of the Deputy Governor of Delta State, as former Special Assistant to the immediate past governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Comrade Fidelis Egugbo, on Thursday debunked the report, saying that the incumbent deputy governor’s office or lodge was never looted as alleged.

An online report (Not BIGPEN NIGERIA) had claimed that Onyeme who was sworn in as deputy governor alongside the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori on Monday, May, 29, 2023 in Asaba, was shocked when he discovered that several government properties ranging from gadgets, light bulbs, air conditioners, new and old cars among others have been looted from his office and other offices under his purview at the Government House, Asaba.

The report claimed that the Delta State deputy governor, Monday Onyeme, is currently angry and dumbfounded over the looting of his office at the Government House, Asaba, and his lodge in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by hoodlums allegedly loyal to his predecessor, Kingsley Otuaro.

But reacting to the story, Egugbo, a renowned journalist and author based in Asaba, said that the news was based on the figment of the imagination of the writer, disclosing that he was at the said office on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 when Chief (Sir) Monday Onyeme, assumed duty and the office was intact ‘without a pin missing or the office requiring renovation.’

Egugbo who said he conducted some journalists around the premises of the Deputy Governor’s Office, maintained that the Journalists confirmed that the office was intact and not looted as alleged.

“This is to inform the public that a report alleging that the Office of the Deputy Governor of Delta State was looted is false, baseless and uncalled for.

“It is sad that, at this age when information can easily be verified, some individuals could just sit in their houses and concoct news stories, and funny enough, some persons are taking such unfounded story seriously; a news story that has no author or byline, as we say in the media.

“Most of us are aware that, from the inception of this administration, I have worked closely with the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Chief (Sir) Monday Onyeme, and I was with him when he assumed duty; till date, he is still using the furniture that his predecessor used. The office was not renovated, not to talk about repainting, and there is no iota of truth in that report.

“If the office was not looted, obviously, his official residence was not also looted, but unlike his office, his official residence is undergoing some renovation.

“As an individual, I have accompanied him on a visit to his official residence and his predecessor, Deacon Kingsley Otuaro, personally took him around the premises before his inauguration on May 29, 2023.

“This administration is less than three weeks old, and our colleagues in the media should desist from engaging in publishing outright falsehood to get mileage in terms of readership and also, avoid sensationalism or news stories that will heat up the polity,’’ he said.

Asked why he had to respond on behalf of the Deputy Governor, Egugbo said, “you are aware that from the day that the Deputy Governor assumed duty, I have been working closely with him, and I can confidently tell you as a journalist who is in the know, that the report was unfounded.”