*Urges Deltans to Resist It By All Legal means
*As he Justifies N100 million APC Presidential Nomination/Expression of Interest forms
As the N150 billion loan request raised by Governor Okowa which had already been approved by the State House of Assembly, continues to receive knocks from Deltans and beyond, a former Local Government Council Chairman of Ethiope West LGA and a chieftain of the All-Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Wilson Odafe Omene, has condemned the connivance of members of the Delta State House of Assembly with the Governor to fleece the state, describing them as a bunch of selfish and insensitive minds to the plights of Deltans.
Omene who stated this while fielding questions from our correspondent in his Mosogar country home over the weekend, said that the State lawmakers who considered and gave approval to the Governor’s loan request in less than 48 hours, have already hypnotized the psyche of every electorate into ‘mumu must continue’ type of people.
He urged Deltans to rise and protest against the loan, adding that it was contrived by the governor to finance his political machinery which has become so expensive for him to shoulder due to the internal wrangling within the PDP on how he could successfully produce his successor in office.
According to him, the speedy approval of the said controversial loan by the legislators has positioned them as partners in crime with the governor, adding that it was a clear indication that they are not only selfish, but as insensitive to the plight of Deltans.
He added that no right-thinking lawmaker would have allowed the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s obnoxious request to pass through first reading, let alone giving it a speedy consideration and approval, knowing full well that the loan request was not backed by specific project just as it was obvious that the governor has very little time left to end his tenure.
He said: “They (lawmakers) have turned the psyche of every electorate into a ‘mumu must continue’ group of people. They are a bunch of insensitive minds as legislators. If they are not insensitive to the plights of the electorate and if they are not a bunch of selfish heads, no reasonable person will ever allow the governor at this point in time, to take a loan of N150 billion when such loan is not tied to a specific project.
“The governor took a loan of N12 billion not too long ago for which I raised serious alarm recently. Even he could not even explain clearly what that N12 billion is meant for. He said oh, it was to pay contractors. How can that be a statement from a whole governor? And yet, the same House of Assembly members approved the N12 billion loan request within three days.
“As for this present N150 billion loan requests, it even took the House less than three days to pass it: first and second readings, Committee and approval – less than three days. What is it tied to and what is the haste to pass it all about? The speedy passage of the bill for the loan is suspicious and the lawmakers seems to be partners in crime with the governor.
“Deltans must rise and protest against this brazen rip-off which the governor and the House are packaging to plunge the state further into a heavy debt burden for the present day Deltans and generations yet unborn.”
Our correspondent reports that as at last week, a concerned Deltan, Prince Henry Efe Duku has dragged Governor Okowa, Delta State government, Zenith Bank PLC, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Delta State, Ministry of Finance, Debt Management Bureau and Attorney-General of the Federation before a Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, capital of Delta State in a suit No. FHC/ASB/CS/66/2022 filed in Asaba early May, 2022.
Also, a civil society group under the auspices of Concerned Nigerians led by Deji Adeyanju, has also petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, urging to commence investigation into the loan request which has already been approved by the Delta State House of Assembly.
As to the implication of the high cost of obtaining presidential expression of interest and nomination forms of the APC which is put at a N100 million, Dr. Omene defended the whooping amount saying that it was made so by the national leadership of the party to prevent unserious aspirants from going into the race.
According to him, the high cost of obtaining nomination forms of the APC showed that the party is so strong, adding that the party leadership felt the need to limit the number of persons who will indicate interest because it is not a child’s play.
“If you feel that your party is so strong in the hearts of Nigerians, you know that by the number of persons decamping to it from time to time. In recent times, several governors moved from other parties into the APC.
“The party in its own wisdom decided to limit the number of persons that will come to buy the party’s form because it is not a child’s play”, he said.
