Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
As the nation grapple with allegations of padded budget, Secret Reporters can report authoritatively that the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Commission (DESOPADEC) budget is also padded.
The 2016 approved budget which is currently in our possession and scrutinized by us clearly reveals areas where it was not only padded but many of the capital projects inflated and awarded to companies belonging to most of the board members and House of Assembly members.
Chief among the lawmakers who got contracts awarded to them are Mr Micheal Diden, Omawunmi Udoh, Dennis Omovie and is also the Chairman, House Committee on DESOPADEC as well as Erhiatake Ibori who is the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation. They were ably assisted by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Monday Igbuya who padded some contracts for his Movig Company.
Typical of a slave to James Ibori, the DESOPADEC Managing Director, Mr Williams Makinde has allocated a whooping sum of Three Hundred and Fifty Million into the building of a Multi Purpose Hall for the ex governor private university called Western Delta University (WDU). This is apart from the eye staggering Three Hundred and Fifty Million Naira given annually to his Independent Newspaper to stay in the market by same Makinde.
In what can best be described as a monumental waste, Makinde and his Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mr Askia Ogieh has also earmarked a scandalous sum of N1 billion to buy Hilux for themselves, which they intend to blare the siren about as they move to create the image of DESOPADEC Governors and intimidate road users. The Ugbenu Market at Koko Junction is also budgeted for One Hundred and Fifty Million.
In the budget, the commission has also kept aside another N40 million to build graves for Itsekiri kings, an act described as “aberration” by a concerned Delta who saw the budget. Not done with their non beneficial projects to the oil producing areas, Makinde plans to build a palace for the Ovie of Uvwie for Eighty Million.
In the last page of the budget, the commission also conspired to get another DESOPADEC building for Five Hundred Million, when they have an abandoned building behind the existing one that can be renovated for use.
***More details on the padded budget to come and the companies projects were awarded to.
