WE DEMAND SENATOR (DR.) IFEANYI ARTHUR OKOWA TO ACCOUNT FOR THE 13% DERIVATION FUND HE RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS CONFIRMED BY THE OFFICE OF THE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION.
We observe with dismay that the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and his cohorts, are insinuating that Chief (Dr.) Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON, is being used by people, to attack the immediate past governor. This is most ridiculous and insulting, to say the least, and only goes to show that Dr. Okowa is not used to criticism. For the eight years, he was in office as governor, it is obvious that he was surrounded by praise singers who were in his payroll, unfortunately, funded with State resources. During the period, he operated like an emperor who had conquered the whole of Delta state.
We, the people of the oil producing communities of Delta State, are happy that Chief (Dr.) E. K. Clark, the Iroko of the Niger Delta and Nigeria, who the Almighty God has graciously delayed his boarding pass because he still has battles like this to fight to liberate the people from exploitation and oppression by those in authority, was one person Dr. Okowa could not conquer.
It is common knowledge that in the past few days, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, has been labouring to justify how he spent the 13% Derivation monies accrued to the oil producing communities, and which he would have used to fund DESOPADEC, the Commission set up by the Delta State government, to manage and expend for the development of the areas. But the more he tried, the more he got himself entangled in the web.
It is intriguing to us the efforts Dr. Okowa is making to ‘clear’ himself. This is because Chief Edwin Clark did not accuse Governor Okowa of not doing anything with the monies, he received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), from the Ecological Fund, from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), from the Paris Club refunds, Grants, etc, during his tenure in office as Governor.
Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa was asked to give account of how he spent the 13% Derivation fund meant for the oil producing communities during his tenure in office. The question is, did Okowa give to DESOPADEC what is due to it according to the State Law establishing DESOPADEC and as amended by Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa? He made sure he inaugurated the new DESOPADEC Board, three days before he left office. That means there is something about DESOPADEC that Dr. Okowa was interested in.
In giving ‘account’ of the 13% Derivation Fund he received, Dr. Okowa listed some projects in the State, including in the oil producing communities. He claimed that he established three new Universities in Delta State which is a record according to him in Nigeria. The three Universities are:
- Denis Osadebe University
- Delta State University, Ozoro
- University of Delta, Agbor
The University of Delta, Agbor is an upgrade of the former College of Education, Agbor. So, the Agbor people were happy that a university is coming to their town, and whereas, Agbor is in Ika South. When the University was established, the people thought all the faculties were in Agbor, and that was why they were jubilating. As a shocker to them, four faculties were taken to Owa in Ika North-East, which also happens to be the Local Government Area, and the Kingdom of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
The faculties are;
(1) Engineering
(2) Environmental Science
(3) Law
(4) Management and Social Science
These ones have developed staff quarters and hostels. There are no staff quarters and hostel in Agbor. All the Faculties in Owa are fully developed. The Engineering Faculty has engulfed above ₦4 billion on equipments alone. While this is happening, no Faculty nor hostel, has been built in the Delta State University, Ozoro.
The College of Medicine was expected to be built in Agbor, but now taken to Owa. The Hospital in Owa is developed to achieve a State-of-the-Art level because of College of Medicine. Even some parts of the equipment in the Faculty of Science, Agbor; are in Owa, because the first-year students will not come down to Agbor to take some science courses Denis Osadebe University
The structures at the two Faculties of Agriculture and Environmental Science were the ones that were on ground, when started, when it was under Abraka. In other words, no new structure was built in the University.
The Engineering Faculty in Oleh
The Faculty of Engineering in Oleh has been abandoned for eight years. It has not been concluded. The contract was given to one Frank Chukkas, from Umunede, in Ika North-East by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
The Faculty of Law
There is no real structure in the Faculty of Law in Oleh and also in Anwai. It is alleged that this is deliberate, in order that the one in his village will be patronised.
The former ggovernor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, also claimed to have built about 2000km of roads in the past eight years in Delta State. While we do not completely believe this claim, we state that most of the roads constructed are in the Delta north area, particularly, in Owa-Oyibo and Owa-Alero. And in fact, some of these roads were deliberately built, leading into bushes, with the hope that the area will develop in the future, and when it does, it will not require a new road. That was the reason he told his principal, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, when he visited his village to inspect some projects, that his village has now grown into a township. While we are not against planning ahead, priorities should be given to developed areas where the inhabitants cannot access their homes because there are no roads.
We will like to debunk the false and criminal assertion by Governor Okowa’s former Chief Press Secretary who later became Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu on an Arise TV interview, where he said that the 13% Derivation Fund, provided for in Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, is not meant only for the Oil Producing Communities, but for the development of the entire State. This again, is ridiculous; he contradicted himself on what the 13% Derivation Fund is meant to do. If this is so, why will the former governor, Dr. Okowa, amend the law establishing DESOPADEC, to include Ika, his ethnic nationality, in order to attract funds for the development of his own area? It is interesting to observe that in doing so, he did not include the other ethnic nationalities and Local Government, including Anioma South, Anioma North, Oshimili South and Oshimili North, because they are not producing oil.
The DESOPADEC LAW which he amended twice, in 2015 and 2019, contained the following extracts reproduced hereunder;
(2) The enactment of DESOPADEC Law in 2006 by former Governor James Ibori in August 2006, mentioned only the oil producing communities commission (means the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission established by section 3 of this law).
(4) Communities mean oil and gas producing communities.
(5) Ethnic Nationalities means the Ijaws, Itsekiris, Urhobos, Isokos and Ndokwas from Delta State
(6) Impacted community means any community that is situated within 5 Kilometre square diameter to any oil and gas exploring, producing and processing facility.
(7) Oil producing Areas means oil and gas producing and impacted communities in the state
PART II: Establishment and composition of the Commission.
(3) (i) there is hereby established a body to be known as the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (in this law referred to as the Commission)
(4) the commission shall consist of the Chairman, eight representatives of the oil producing areas in the state at least two per senatorial district, two (2) ex-officio members namely (a) Representative of the Ministry of Finance (b) Representative of the Ministry of Economic Planning.
(5) Members of the Commission other than the ex-officio members shall be indigenes of the oil producing areas of the state.
(6) There shall be an area office in each of the local government areas of the oil producing areas.
PART III: FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION
(13) The Commission shall:
(i) Receive and administer exclusively the fifty percent (50%) of the thirteen percent (13%) Oil Derivation Fund accruing to the State for:
(a) The rehabilitation and development of Oil producing Areas in the State,
and
(b) Other development projects as may be determined from time to time by the Commission.
PART V: FUNDS AND ACCOUNT
(19) (1) the sources of funds of the commission shall be:
(a) fifty percent (50%) of the thirteen percent (13%) Derivation Fund or any other percentage (%) approved accruing to the State from the Federation Account;
(7) The Accounts of the Commission shall be audited annually by the Auditor-general of the State and the audited report shall be submitted to the House not later than 30th June of the succeeding year.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note does not form part of the above Law, but is intended to explain it purport).
This Law repeals the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission Law, Cap.32 Laws of Delta State, 2006 and seeks to provide for an organized management and administrative structure for an effective use of the 50% or any increased percentage of the 13% Oil Derivation Fund according to Delta State Government for the purpose of tackling the under development and ecological problems which arise from the exploration and exploitation of oil minerals in the Oil and Gas Producing Areas of Delta State.
Regrettably, Governor Okowa has abandoned the Oil Producing Communities for which the 13% was made, and for which the 13% was provided for in the 1999 constitution.
All responsible and patriotic Deltans are definitely angry with former governor Ifeanyi Okowa, for allegedly misappropriating the 13% fund as:
- He is unable to account for the 50% that is not allocated to the Oil Producing Communities by the DESOPADEC Law. He did not include it in any budget or supplementary budget, as extra fund from the Federal Government, coming from the 13% derivation payment. Perhaps, he treats it as part of his security vote for which he is not accountable to anybody. If so, let him say it.
- The 50% which must be paid as stated in Section 13 of the DESOPADEC Law, was also kept by him; from where he dishes out funds to DESOPADEC in instalments, as he deems fit. He recently confessed through his former Commissioner of Information, Charles Aniagwu, on the said Arise TV interview, that “in the course of our administration we have given to DESOPADEC over ₦208 billion in 8 years”. When asked what the former Ifeanyi Okowa spent the remaining part of the 13% amounting to ₦1.7 trillion on, he could only cite some roads the government had constructed with the money, most of which as he mentioned, were constructed in Governor Okowa’s zone, Delta North Senatorial zone, particularly in his twin villages of Owa-Oyibo and Owa-Alero, where some of the roads were tarred to the bush for ‘future development.’
The annual budget of Delta State Government is made up of monthly allocations from the federal government such as the ecological fund and the internal revenue, which he put at ₦79 billion. These revenues were received by the Delta State Government and were contained in both the Annual and Supplementary budget of the State. There is nowhere in the various Delta State government budgets is it shown how the remaining 50% of the 13% Derivation Fund paid by the Federal Government, is spent by the former governor. Maybe, he thinks that like in the case of the security funds, he is not accountable to anyone including the Delta State House of Assembly. These cases are not even contained in the annual audit report which amounted to ₦538,725,143,276.17 (five hundred and thirty-eight billion, seven hundred and twenty-five million, one hundred and forty-three thousand, two hundred- and seventy-six-naira, seventeen kobo). Out of the total sum from the 50% which must be paid in block to DESOPADEC in accordance to Section 13 of the DESOPADEC Law, he only paid over ₦208 billion for the period of 8 years, leaving a balance of about ₦330 billion.
We demand from former governor Okowa an account of how he spent the remaining 50% which was not given to DESOPADEC, and the balance of the 50% meant for DESOPADEC amounting to about ₦330 billion, as the sum total is about ₦869,450,286,552. 08.
It should be noted that some of us from the oil producing areas of Delta State have been agitating for some years how past governors of Delta State allegedly squandered or embezzled the 13% derivation funds without any benefit/development accruing to the oil producing communities to the extent that we had to sue them to court asking them to account for the 13% derivation fund meant for the development of the Oil Producing Communities. In fact, some of us have been members of DESOPADEC as Commissioners representing our oil producing communities and, therefore, are fully aware of the amount of money received by DESOPADEC out of the 13% derivation funds, paid to Delta State Government.
Similarly in 2017, the youths under the umbrella of New Delta Avengers, addressed an open letter to the immediate past Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in a publication in Vanguard Newspaper of June 10th, 2017. These youths protested to the Vice President, to warn Governor Okowa to account for the total amount of money he received from the Federal Government on the 13% derivation fund because there is no visible development in the oil producing areas. For example, the schools are without teachers, furniture and structure, no health services/hospitals, no light, no clean drinking water in the areas, and if nothing is done by the government within a reasonable time, they will strike in the creeks because they have sent their boys to the creek. It was Chief E. K. Clark, who also appealed to them in the Vanguard Newspaper of June 20th, 2017. The youths agreed to suspend their actions vide their publication in Vanguard Newspaper of 29th June, 2017. Yet former governor Okowa, is seemingly lying to the whole world, that there is peace in the Niger Delta because of the Development he carried out. This is absolutely incorrect.
We are fully in support of Chief E.K. Clark’s petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); to show our support, representatives of the various Oil producing communities, the Itsekiri, the Ijaw, the Isoko, the Ndokwa and the Urhobo ethnic nationalities of the oil producing areas, led a protest to the headquarters of EFCC on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023, where we handed over a petition to the EFCC. Our action was widely reported by the media. Part of the petition is reproduced hereunder:
“It is very disheartening and callous to note that despite the copious and unambiguous provisions of Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Section 13 (1) of the DESOPADEC Law of 2006 (as amended), 2007, 2015 and 2018 respectively, Okowa has deliberately and flagrantly abused, violated and breached the above provisions of the law and had continued to misappropriate the said funds for his personal use at the expense of the suffering people of the Oil and Gas Producing Communities in Delta State.
“It is very nauseating that despite the stupendous billions of naira being paid to the Delta State Government from the 13 per cent oil derivation fund from the Federation Account, the Oil Producing Areas/Communities continue to wallow in abject poverty with no commensurate social amenities and infrastructures in place”.
Finally, we will want the EFCC to bring all those concerned to book in other to avoid serious crisis in the Niger Delta which may affect the production of oil.
God bless Delta State and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed:
Chief Obiuwevbi Ominimini (National Chairman of Oil Producing Areas Association of Nigeria (OPAAN)
Prince Markpobi Okareme (Pioneer National Secretary of Traditional Ruler of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria (TROMPCON) and Vice Chairman PANDEF Delta State)
Sir Matthew Itsekure (Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality)
Comrade Chief Sheriff Mulade (Ijaw Ethnic Nationality)
Chief Etenero John (Member Isoko Ethnic Nationality)
Hon. Mark Ikpuri (Urhobo Ethnic Nationality)
For and on behalf of the Oil Producing Communities in Delta State.
