Ifeanyi Okowa says it is not true that his movement and that of the entire Delta State Government’s structure from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was to shield him from fraud.
- +N1.3trn allegation: We didn’t move to APC for shield from fraud, says Okowa
Okowa who gave the explanation through Olisah Ifejiakah, his former chief press secretary (CPS), at a press briefing in Asaba, Tuesday, also denied the allegation that he diverted N1.3 trillion from 13 percent Oil Derivation allocated to the state from the Federal, in his eight years tenure (2015 to 2023)
Okowa who gave the explanation through Olisah Ifejiakah, his former chief press secretary (CPS), at a press briefing in Asaba, Tuesday, also denied the allegation that he diverted N1.3 trillion from 13 percent Oil Derivation allocated to the state from the Federal, in his eight years tenure (2015 to 2023)
As far as we are concerned, by the statement we gave out in 2024, no N1.3 trillion is missing anywhere. What came into the state for the eight years Okowa was governor was N2.65 trillion and we gave account of how that money was spent, said Ifejiakah.
“We were all witnesses to the event about the allegation that in 2024, while Sen. Okowa was on vacation outside the country, he was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to defend allegations leveled against him.
“When he returned, as a law abiding citizen, he reported to the EFCC in Port Harcourt, where he responded to the petition. First, Okowa was not arrested, he went to hounour an invitation by the EFCC and he was never detained. And after responding to the allegations which took him one day, he came back to Asaba, his base.
“At Okowa’s return from the EFCC, I as the CPS came out with a statement to the facts and the so alleged missing N1.3 trillion and we gave account of what came into the state as revenue for the eight years he was governor.
“For two years now the statement has not been controverted and nobody has come to say Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, you lied, this facts you presented are not true,” he said.
Ifeajika, said that it was rather shameful that certain individuals could come to demand that Okowa was culpable of the sum of N1.3 trillion and that he should be committed to the prison. If the senator was culpable, the EFCC has a job to do, adding that people should not play politics with everything, he said.
“To move from PDP to APC, was born out of full consultation with relevant statekholders in the state; from Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori, the past governor, leaders and to the lowest strata in the party whether to remain or leave the PDP,”
“Today, the implosion our leaders saw then in PDP has happened, so, the movement to APC was never to shield anybody nor avoid any investigation,” Ifeajika explained.
He said that as state governor, Sen. Okowa pioneered the domestication of Health Insurance Scheme in Delta which gave rise to contributory health scheme where patients only pay N7,000 premium annually to access health care.
He said that in spite of these distractions, Okowa has fully answered the call by the leaders and stakeholders from Delta North, led by the State Deputy Governor, Sir Monday Onyeme to contest the senate seat in 2027 general election.
According to Ifeajika, Okowa has completed his nomination form for the senatorial seat and submitted same to the APC. He answered the call to return to the senate after full consultation with stakeholders in the nine local government areas of Delta North Senatorial District”.
Ifeajika, the executive assistant to Gov. Oborevwori on Public Enlightenment, Projects and Policies, lauded the present administration for its impactful projects, policies and programmes.
“Gov. Oborevwori is doing very well. He has taken governance to the next level. If the distractors have any other thing to throw up let them do but for N1.3 trillion, health services or for any other matter, they have failed,” Ifeajika said.
