Chief Edwin Clark, an Ijaw national leader and convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), has described former Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as a fraudulent and corrupt man who misappropriated over N1.7 trillion naira 13 percent derivation accrued to the state in his eight years as governor.
Speaking in an interview on TVC, the 96 year old elderstatesman said Okowa, on three occasions fraudulently amended the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) Law, 2006 which was established by former Delta state governor, Chief James Ibori so as to include his community Ika as an oil producing area when it is clear to everyone that his community was not part of it.
According to him, the original oil producing areas are Itsekiris, Ijaws, Isokos, Urhobos and the Ndokwas.
While calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to act fast and pick Okowa up, Clark said “This question of 13 percent derivation which is provided for in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria. Section 1622 provided for at least 13 percent of the derivation money to be paid to the oil producing communities. Nobody can amend that except the National Assembly, the state assemblies and Mr. President”.
“In 2006, our first civilian governor in 1999, Chief James Onanefe Ibori established a law which is called Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) Law, 2006. The law states that all the money gotten from the 13 percent derivation will be spent there. But when he made the law, as usual, he only provided for 50 percent of the 13 percent derivation that must be paid enbloc to DESOPADEC for its development”.
“Section 14 of DESOPADEC law states that it is the body that will be responsible for awarding contracts and discussing with the oil producing communities what they wanted in their areas. When Uduaghan came in in 2007, he continued with the policy until the 29th of May 2015”.
“Since Okowa took over, he has amended the law three times. He did that purposely to include his community, Ika ethnic nationality into the law as an oil producing community when they don’t. What nonsense is that. That was cheating and fraudulent. So today, Ika which is Okowa’s ethnic nationality has now become the sixth ethnic nationality that produces oil in Delta. The earlier ones are Itsekiris, Ijaws, Isokos, Urhobos and the Ndokwas. Other parts are not oil producing eras”.
“The law also provides that the 50 percent of the money must be paid enbloc to the commission but this did not happen in Okowa’s time. Okowa now kept 50 percent of the 13 percent derivation and refused to pay in bloc the remaining 50 percent due to DESOPADEC by law. He was paying them in instalments”.
“When Okowa’s former Commissioner, Aniagwu was asked during the interview, he said they have paid DESOPADEC N208b in eight years of the Okowa administration. The question is, the remaining 50 percent of the 13 percent derivation which amounts to N300b, who is keeping it? What is Okowa doing with it? altogether, Okowa has to give an account of the 13 percent derivation amounting to about N1.7 trillion. He only spent less than N208b on DESOPADEC.
Okowa is lying, he is fraudulent. He is very corrupt”.
, has described former Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as a fraudulent and corrupt man who misappropriated over N1.7 trillion naira 13 percent derivation accrued to the state in his eight years as governor.){kind=link}