STOP THE BLAME GAME – OKOWA SHOULD NOT BE COLLECTING SECURITY VOTES IF HE CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR IT

By Zik Gbemre

I am in total agreement with the writer of the response, Mr. Egufe Wilson Yafugborhi against Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s Aide Statement, the Executive Assistant on Communications to the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, who has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abubakar Adamu and Police Commissioner (CP) in Delta State, Adeleke Bode, to urgently use their good offices to stop the criminal activities of Fulani Herdsmen and killing of harmless and innocent Deltans in their farmlands. His appeal was contained in a statement condemning the killing of over eight people in Abraka, Ethiope East LGA and three youths in Ukwuani, in the state.

Part of the statement that really showed how irresponsible and failure of a government, the Okowa administration is, was Oghenesivbe’s words that: “The Chief Security Officer of the State, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, has limit as to his control of security operatives in the state due to the exclusive constitutional right of the federal government in the control of the police and other security agencies. As it is today, the state Commissioner of Police takes direct instructions from the Inspector General of Police while the IGP is answerable to Mr. President, pointing to show that Governor Okowa merely interacts with the CP and other heads of security agencies on how to better secure the state, assist security agencies financially, provide vehicles and equipment without corresponding powers to absolutely control their official activities, actions and inactions. It follows that as Chief Security Officer of Delta State, Governor Okowa cannot issue orders that may bind or direct the heads of security agencies when it comes to complex and politically motivated criminal activities of some blood tasty Fulani herdsmen in some communities in the state.”

To which the response writer rightly noted that: “So, if Buhari, IGP and CP don’t do anything about herdsmen menace, Fred and Okowa are just gonna sit sucking on WhatsApp? That’s all they can do? Fayose fashioned a home determined law and remedy to tackle herdsmen in Ekiti without playing “crybaby” before FG. Wasn’t Okowa in Nigeria at the time? If the law ties Okowa’s hands from tackling security in Delta, the first thing to do is not to rely on Latimore to cry for him. When himself -appropriates hundreds of millions of naira of the commonwealth as security votes, does he complain of his hands being tied? Okowa should first, from this minute, stop claiming SECURITY VOTES. He should share the money to the defenseless Delta communities to buy machetes, clubs, & dane-guns to secure themselves against herdsmen. Racket government.”

Is it not surprisingly to note how Governor Okowa was said to have allegedly used State funds for alleged “vote buying”, arming PDP (hired) thugs and paid INEC officials to compromise the outcome of the Gubernatorial election in Delta State, yet he cannot account for what he has been using all the security votes freely collected by his administration to provide security for Deltans? If Governor Okowa says he is not in charge of the security of the Delta State then why has he been collecting billions of Naira as Security Votes from public purse?

Governor Okowa should tell us Deltans, how much he has collected as Security Votes money since 2015 till date. If he is not in charge of Security Operatives as the Chief Security Officer of Delta State, then he should refund/return all Security Votes ever collected by him from the State that were meant for funding/equipping Security Operatives in carrying out their functions. If Delta State Police Command with all its Divisional Police Stations still having challenges with lack of well-equipped Vehicles, armory, Radios, walkie talkies and other vital communications gadgets that could have helped their fight against crime in the State, then what exactly has Okowa been doing with all the Security Votes he has collected all these years. What is the essence of having a so-called Chief Security Officer (CSO), in person of Okowa, who cannot support and equip Security Operatives in the fight against crime in Delta State? If as CSO of Delta State, Governor Okowa is only good at collecting Security Votes that he never accounts for, then he has not right to be pointing fingers and pushing the blame to others for his dereliction and abdication of duties.

If Okowa’s counterpart like Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, could spend his State’s Security Votes for what the funds were meant for, particularly when he, some few years ago, commissioned and handed over modern security gadgets like police surveillance helicopters, Police Patrol Vehicles and Police patrolling boats, communication gadgets, etc., to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) arm of the Nigerian Police in Lagos State, at the cost of N4.6 billion; then Governor Okowa surely does not have any excuse, or the right for pushing blames to others for his non-performance in the provision of Security.  The said N4.6billion was actually procured courtesy of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) – a joint contribution between the state government and corporate bodies in Lagos. The question is, what stops the Delta State Governor from doing the same thing the Lagos State Governor has done for the Police in its State? We have cried countless times to the Delta State Government on the need to provide modern security gadgets and intelligence communication apparatus to the State Police that is daily faced with challenging security demands. But it seems as if we are pouring water on a piece of rock, as no action has been taken in this regard despite the huge funds enjoyed by the State Government in the name of Security Votes.

The bottom line is that Governor Okowa should stop collecting Security Votes he cannot account for, and since he is not in charge of Security of the State, because that is the implication of the statement made by his aide above. Is it not a big shame on Okowa, that his aide would come out in the public domain to justify and defend his failures and gross irresponsibility as a State Government in the management of the State’s Security. Okowa should simply stop collecting Security Votes money. It is the height of irresponsibility, when a State Governor, as the Chief Security Officer, is blaming others for his failures as a Governor in providing security for his people. Yet, he has no qualms for failing to use the security votes funds to address all the security concerns in the State, which Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe is trying to defend him for.

Zik Gbemre.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)

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