Delta Speaker clears air on N27bn alleged fraud

News

By Poju Ademola , Asaba. 

The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.Victor Ochei, has exonerated himself from the allegation of fraud rocking the state’s Independent Power Plant (IPP) project.

A whooping N27 billion was alleged some years ago to be missing from the total money earmarked for the project and the Speaker was fingered.

Last year, the matter constitutes front burner following the warning of the foremost Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, asking the Speaker not to join the governorship race in 2015 until he clears his name from the mess.

The Speaker who spoke to teemipluse2.blogspot.com during an interview in Asaba, said the fact of the matter would soon materialize.

Referring to Clark as “my elder statesman”, he explained that although he is no longer involved in the project execution but the firm he once had“interest” in, he was sure that the project has reached its advance stage.

He decried the speculation making round the state that the project site had long overgrown with weeds, with nothing on ground to show for the money expended so far.

According to him, the account was concocted to discredit the present administration of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan whose blueprint for the development of the state had impacted positively on the people of the state.

He said, “I challenge members of the fourth estate of the realm to visit the project site and then come back to ask me questions. This is a Governor who is doing selfless services for the state, whose three point

agenda and his ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ policy has taken the state to the next level of development, yet, few insatiable group, whose eyes are blind to what is good, are dissipating their energy on campaign of calumny against him.”

He said time would vindicate him on whether he actually embezzled the IPP money,saying “people should not expect project of such magnitude to be completed within a short space of time. Such project should not be

politicized. It takes a lot of time, resources and energy to complete. By the time the project comes on stream, the fact will speak for itself.”