RE: STILL ON THE NEED TO PROBE DR. EMMANUEL UDUAGHAN’S FAILED/ABANDONED PROJECTS IN DELTA STATE

By Zik Gbemre

When it comes to a Government being Accountable to its citizenry in the management and appropriation of public funds within the Nigerian space, Delta State is one State that has the least score. It is regrettable that Delta State in the last Sixteen years, especially in the last Eight years of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is one State in Nigeria where the issues of accountability and transparency have often questioned the integrity of the State government in the management and appropriation of Delta State public funds and resources. A look at Delta State from 1999 till date would reveal that there are more questions than answers, on the part of the State governments’ ability to account to Deltans and Nigerians; on how every Naira and kobo of revenue/allocation coming into Delta State’s purse were expended, not to mention the huge amounts of money also ‘borrowed’ by the Delta State government that were not accounted for in all these years.

What we even find more disturbing is the fact that whenever we consider the huge amounts of funds (be it through internal revenues, Federal allocations or borrowed money) that come into the Delta State Government’s purse every now and then, and then compare this with what we see on ground in terms of development at all levels of the State, the disparity that exists is enough to drive any sane mind angry.

It is really sad that all we have had, especially in the last 8 years of democratic rule in Delta State under Uduaghan; was a dynasty of corruption of the highest order and impunity, and a legacy of abandoned infrastructural projects/programmes. Though, the Uduaghan Administration has come and gone, but there is expedient need for relevant anti-graft agencies to promptly and thoroughly probe the immediate past Delta State Government of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to ascertain what exactly he had done with the State’s public funds; judging by the legacy of abandoned/failed Projects he left behind in the State after his exit. Some of these failed/abandoned Projects in Delta State that were left behind by the Uduaghan Administration are:

1.     The N23.2 billion Delta State Independent Power Plant (IPP) Project at Oghara, Ethiope West LGA, Delta State. One of the reasons why there is expeditious need to probe this particular IPP project is the fact that recently, there were reports that there are strong indications that the five-member Delta State House of Assembly Committee investigating the said IPP project may have abandoned the probe midway into the exercise, due to pressure from top politicians.

–          In one of the reports, a Delta State lawmaker, who pleaded anonymity, explained that they decided to abandon the probe, because of the numerous political heavyweights involved, in what is gradually turning out to be ‘a very big scam’. He said: “When we went to Oghara, we were amazed at the level of rot, but mid-way into the probe, we discovered that so many top politicians in the State were involved. We were subjected to too much pressure from big quarters, and had no choice, but to abandon the probe because of the people involved.” This inaction, especially against the backdrop of the committee’s promise to conclude its report within one month, has further confirmed the speculations. Also the expectations that violators of the terms of contract would face the wrath seem to have simmered down. The lawmaker discl osed that the committee was amazed to discover that there was nothing on ground to show for the huge sum of money expended on the project, except for the access road to the site.

–          Let us reiterate here that it would be recalled that over N19 billion reportedly went into the project after almost seven years of construction work, a situation which compelled the lawmakers to have vowed to probe all the parties involved, in order to ensure its completion for the benefit of the people. The said IPP project, which was awarded by the erstwhile Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan in June 2009, was designed to generate 128 megawatts of electricity. But all of that is gone as reiterated by the Majority Leader of the Delta State House, Tim Owefere, who led the team to the inspection, was equivocal when he said that, it was very clear that there was nothing on ground to show for the huge sum of money appropriated for the said IPP project. The question now, should these so called big wigs in political circles of the State and the former Governor Uduaghan be allowed to go scot free having obvio usly misappropriated the funds meant for the said IPP project into their private pockets? Are these people above the law? Absolutely not! This is the more reason why the relevant anti-graft agencies should probe this project and those behind its failure to kick off despite all the money spent.

2.     The N6 billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Lane Project  that was supposed to start from Effurun Round-about and terminate at the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Warri Delta State.  Former Governor Uduaghan had in 2014 earmarked N6billion for the stalled Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane Project in Effurun/Warri which has caused unbearable pain to motorists and commuters alike in the oil city. According to the former governor, the said BRT Project would have engaged 750 people. But after the ‘destruction’ of the once beautiful Warri/Sapele road, which would have further given way for the said BRT project, generally regarded as not well thought out, the project remained stalled until recently, when the current Delta State Governor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, dismantled the entire project that was obviously stopped.

–          For several months after the said BRT lane Project was initiated by Uduaghan, from Effurun to Enerhen remained a death trap due to the excavation of parts of what is regarded as one of the most important roads in the Warri and environs metropolis. When the current Delta State Government came on board, Ifeanyi Okowa called a stakeholders meeting where it was generally accepted that the money already spent on the so-called project was a complete waste. As we speak, no one has accounted for all the billions of naira already budgeted and supposedly expended on the said BRT lane Project by the Uduaghan administration. The Chairman of the NBA in Warri, John Aikpokpo-Martins, while bemoaning the deplorable state of the Effurun/Sapele road, described it as ‘’bare-brained’’ and “luciferic’’.

–          The said abandoned BRT Lane Project was making life hell for motorists that were forced to squeeze themselves and use the little space remaining on the side. The issue of ‘Side-Walk’ for pedestrians was completely out of the question, as people had trek on any available space close to buildings to get to their destination. In fact, it was after public outcry and a squabble with other higher government authorities that the former Delta State Government under Uduaghan started expanding the road and making drainage system along the said of the Warri/Effurun/Sapele Road, just few months before they left office. But today, both the drainage, expansion of road and the entire BRT Lane project have been abandoned immediately the Uduaghan government left office.

–          Though, the current Okowa Government had dismantled all the BRT Bus Stands along the road, the road expansion and drainage system are still left abandoned. One cannot help but wonder how a State Government and its Contractor can initiate a BRT Lane Project on an existing narrow expressway without first “expanding the road” (with good drainage system and Pedestrian Walkway) to adequately accommodate the BRT Lane and other road users by the side? Who starts such a huge project that would deface existing structures without first sitting down to appropriately plan and strategize each stages of the project and how best to go about doing it? It was after the project was initiated that it became clear that adequate plan was never made to address a lot of things. This clearly justifies the fact that the entire said BRT lane Project was an ‘elephant project’ of Uduaghan to use as a channel to misappropriate Delta State funds before they left office.

–          Let us reiterate here however, that the present Delta State Government under Okowa is now forced to spend additional State’s fund to dismantle and clear the said failed BRT lane Project off the Warri/Sapele road for motorists and commuters to have enough space for vehicular and pedestrian movement. In other words, Governor Okowa is not part of the problem with the failed BRT lane Project and as such, he should not be held responsible for any wrong doing but Uduaghan should.

3.     The Multi-billion Naira Warri Industrial Park at Edjeba, Warri Delta State. Despite sitting on a land area of approximately 329 hectares in Edjeba and said to be a ‘mini-industrial city’ that will aid commercial activities in Delta State, the Warri Industrial Park still mainly lies fallow.

–          Till date, about over N9 billion has already been expended with over N1billion of State funds spent on master planning, EIA and consultancy as of 2011. An additional N3 billion was in the 2012 Budget, N2 billion was allocated in the 2013 budget, and N3 billion was reserved for the project in the 2014 budget, yet there is little or nothing to show for the huge capital outlay. Again, the question is, where did all that money go to and what were they used by for by Uduaghan and his government if practically nothing has been done to bring the said project to reality?

4.     The Second Runway and Expansion/Upgrade Of Osubi Airport Project at Osubi, near Warri Delta State. With over N1.3 billion spent by the end of 2011 fiscal year. An additional N8 billion was earmarked in the 2012 Budget and in the 2013 budget, the then government had also allocated a further N4billion to the same project. At the end of all these huge allocations meant for the said project, there is practically nothing on ground at the Osubi Airport, near Warri to justify the amounts supposedly spent by the Uduaghan Government.

–          Although the Airstrip is privately-owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), the company is not constitutionally obligated to do anything to accommodate the ‘increasing commercial’ patronage of the Airstrip. The ‘strategic location’ of the Osubi Airstrip, near the oil city of Warri and environs, has made it ‘a favorite’ for Nigerians in Delta State and beyond. Hence, the general increasing desires to have it developed to a standard Airport to accommodate bigger aircrafts for more patronage. The major work that is required of the Government here is to ‘increase the size of the Osubi Airstrip runway’ so that large aircrafts can land at the Airstrip that will be turned into a standard Airport. This will result in economies of scale, reduce air fares and increase the number of flights and passengers. In fact, the Delta State Government under the Uduaghan a dministration had in March 2008 set-up a committee to look into the possibility of taking over the Osubi Airstrip from SPDC and expanding the runway to take larger aircrafts in other to reduce the cost of flying to and fro the Osubi Airstrip.

–          Unfortunately, despite its laudability, the Uduaghan administration started playing politics with the said ‘Expansion Project of the Osubi Airstrip’ and practically abandoned their plans after all the monies supposedly expended on it. Rather, it decided to build an alternative airport in Asaba at a said estimated whopping cost of almost N40billion. Till date, that Asaba Airport is yet to be approved by Nigerian Aviation Authorities because of the facility’s haphazard conception, construction and delivery.

5.     The Multi-billion Naira Asaba ‘International’ Airport at Asaba, Delta State. Just to demolish the hills around the said Airport alone, Uduaghan hurriedly signed a contract to expend the staggering sum of N7.4billion, few days before the South summit in that year, which held in the State. The actual cost of the project which started during the governor’s first tenure between 2007 and 2011 is still a matter of guesswork as it has moved variously from N17bn to N23bn, N27bn, N40bn and lately N57bn.

–          Despite all the noise about the huge amount spent on the “persistently ongoing project”, the Federal Government early last year said the Airport was not safe. The Federal Government accused the then Uduaghan-led government of failing to fix the key infrastructure at the facility. It said the State Government refused to comply with directives from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority mandating it to fix some of the Airport’s infrastructure such as repairs of the undulating runways, perimeter fencing of the facility, lack of the required strip, drainages as well as lack of adequately trained technical personnel. One then is forced to ask what happened to all the billions of naira yearly budgeted under the Uduaghan Government for this same Project?

6.     The $250m Delta Leisure and Theme Park, Oleri. Touted as one of the key projects by Uduaghan, who always boasted that the $250m project would be completed during his tenure, the Delta Leisure and Theme Park, Oleri, Udu LGA of the State remains a controversial project. Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sarner PFM about five years ago,  the leisure park which the company described as  self -contained leisure complex that will contain a water park, cultural centre, amusement rides, hotels and retail outlets is yet to move from its rudimentary stage.

–          In fact, ‘soil testing’ which is a basic requirement for constructing such a huge project was not done until late 2013, yet the completion date, according to the contractor’s website was supposed to be 2014. Yet, the State government under Uduaghan said it spent close to N800m, on just constructing the middle pavement of the DSC road leading to the area, which many regard as unnecessary and a waste of public funds.

The above list of abandoned/legacy projects are just the few out of the many of such legacy projects left all over Delta State by the immediate past Uduaghan Government. With the revelation that the Delta State government under former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan left a huge debt burden of about N637billion for the present administration, we would therefore understand the calls for a probe into the financial dealings of the immediate-past administration, which has become even more strident. The debt, unarguably one of the most humongous by any state in Nigeria’s fourth republic, has as expected caused outrage from various politicians, civil society organisations, individuals, as well as professional bodies.

It is against this backdrop that we strongly believe there is need for the anti-graft agencies to ask questions of how the immediate past State Governor of Delta State expended the huge revenues that were accrued into the State during his time in government. Side by side to this, there is need for anti-graft agencies to find out what was the worth of this past Governor of Delta State before and after he left office. For instance, what was the financial status of the former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan before 1999 when his cousin James Ibori (also a former Delta State Governor), appointed him as Commissioner of Health? And what is his financial status now that he has left Delta State Government House after eight years as Governor? We are very sure that the anti-graft agencies and Nigerians would be shocked and left speechless with the findings of a thorough investigation of Uduaghan’s current status of wealth, including that of his family members, and compare it with what it wa s before he was brought into politics and Delta State Government circle by his cousin Ibori.

Zik Gbemre, JP.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)

No.28, Opi Street, Ugboroke Layout, Effurun-Warri,

P.O. Box 2254, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.

Tel:       +2348026428271

+2348052106013

Website: www.ndpc-zik.org,