Pitfalls of Odili

By

Abubakar Jika

jikaab@yahoo.com

When President Olusegun Obasanjo was meditating on his second term bid, Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State egged him on insisting there was no alternative to him. Whenever President Obasanjo has serious disagreements with the National Assembly, Governor Odili was always on hand to mobilize busloads of protesters to the three arms zone. Odili was also accused of having a hand in previous attempts to unseat Speaker Ghali Nabba and his Deputy Chibudom Nwuche.

When Information Minister, Jerry Gana, led the Media Tour in search of democracy dividends and crowned Odili the best Governor, many wonder the political status of Odili in his Rivers State. The question begging for answer is: Is Odili’s support for Obasanjo emanating from the confidence of a political force on ground or the “mouthing” of a political desperado? The answer was not long in coming.

On September 19, 2002 at Abuja the Rivers Democratic Movement addressed a Press Conference addressed by Mr. Charles Harry, its Chairman and Faye Dikio its Director, Legal Services. The movement claimed, “Rivers State budgets have never been published nor has there been published audited accounts. Contracts worth billions of naira are awarded without published calls for tender or by competitive bidding. The only criterion for awards, being the idiosyncrasy of the Governor”.

The movement also disclosed that Dr. Odili received over N 100 billion in the last 3˝ years, averaging N 3 billion every month, yet “there is an unprecedented decay of social infrastructure in the State”. It accused Odili of being behind communal crises at Ke/ Bille, Ogbakiri, Ogu/ Bolo, Abua/ Odual, Yeghe, Eleme/ Okrika, Okuruama, etc. They said they took their case to the Presidency, the PDP National Executive and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences. These agencies gave them scant attention.

More indicting, they say their petition to the ICPC was leaked to Governor Odili contrary to the laws.

These charges are indeed grave. At the conference, journalists asked if the movement is not a front for Hon. Chibudom Nwuche, Deputy Speaker, Federal House of Representatives in his running battles with Governor Odili. They dismissed this. They unfolded a list of the RDM Grand Council, each of who could not conceivably run errands for Hon. Nwuche: Alabo T.O. Graham-Douglas, four times Minister, Chairman; Chief Albert Horsfall, former D.G. SSS & Chairman OMPADEC (member); Chief Rufus Ada George, former Governor (member); and Dr. Marshall Harry, former PDP National Vice Chairman (member).

Others are: Onwa Victor Odili, Member PDP Board of Trustees (member); Chief Sergeant Awuse, two times Governorship Candidate and Chairman FAAN (member); Chief Chamberlain Oyibo, former MD N.N.P.C. (member); Bishop Elkanah Hanson, Governorship Candidate (member); Chief Bekinbo Soberekon (member); Chief (Dr.) A.A. Ibiama (member); Professor Fons Amaye-Obu, a Governorship Candidate (member); Engr. Pedro Egbe (member) and Engineer Henry Moore Pepple (member).

Others in the politically intimidating list are: Surveyor Sam Agwor, a former Adviser to Governor Odili and Rivers State former SDP Chairman (member); Chief S.O. Akaniwor, President Ekere Ikwerre (member) and Chief Ngeri Rolands (member). It appears all the political heavy weights in Rivers State are lined up against Governor Odili. They threaten to sink Odili’s second term bid and that of Obasanjo if he consents to Odili’s schemings to return in 2003. They told us at the press briefing that any one who doubts who between them and Odili is on ground in Rivers State is invited to go and investigate.

When I went to Port Harcourt on a private visit, I decided to verify this intriguing political development that is threatening the political fortunes of Obasanjo and PDP in Rivers and Bayelsa States.

>From the airport through Obio-Akpor in the Ikwerre area to town, the road is ridden, with potholes and gullies. Refuse dumps fill the Station Road, Odual Road roundabouts, Yola Street and Kaduna Street and indeed virtually all the streets of the Garden City.

Craters and gullies cut off some streets such as Finima Street, Ammassoma Street, the roads leading to Federal Secretariat, Military Hospital, GRA Phase 1, making Port Harcourt Streets swimming pools whenever it rains. With refuse dumps, blocked drainages, poor road networks, the city is a motorists and commuters nightmare. A journey that ordinarily takes 20 minutes can drag on for hours.

Primary schools are collapsing. I saw the Orogbum Primary School in D/Line whose fading zincs hanged on tottering walls as a disaster waiting to happen.

State industries were abandoned. The Rivers Oil Mills along Abonnema Wharf Road is now a place for dangerous reptiles. Even highbrow areas such as GRA Phase I, GRA Phase II are sorry sights.

More grievous were scandalous allegations of fraud leveled against Governor Odili by his citizens. Among these are: Phantom budgetary allocations of N 1,574,394,987 in 2000; N 2 billion in 2001 and N 1 billion in 2002 totaling N 4.5 billion which were not accounted for. He was also said to have spent N 4.1 billion on his security in three years. His millennium center, which had N 1.5 billion allocation originally sited at the tollgate at Iriebe remain on the drawing board.

Nobody could show me his proposed refinery that had N 1.5 billion allocation in 2001 and 2002. Nobody could also show me the New Assembly Complex that took N 3.2 billion in 2001 and 2002. Same for the Government House that supposedly gulped N 1.5 billion in 2001 and 2002. The State University of Science and Technology, which had N 260,500,000, budget for accreditation is yet to have a single programme accredited.

I was taken to the Igboukwu playground, which was renovated at N 2 million in 2001. Neighbours insisted not even a trip of sand was added there. The fish farm at Borokiri, Port Harcourt that cost N 18 million in 2001 and 2002 is haven for reptiles, overgrown with weeds. Rivers State also has the distinct dishonour of the first State to allocate N 700 million last year to purchase an aircraft for its Governor.

More worrisome are the roads Odili claimed he completed some of which were not even leveled let alone tarred. I personally went to seven of them.

None showed any work done. Those I visited were: Anyawa Street, Ogbunabali; Anyama Street link Road and Okwa Street, Rmuokwuta. Others are Boms Avenue, Tereama-Ozuboko Road, Rumuji and Rumuedegu Road. I understand 21 of such roads were claimed to have been fixed.

While N 25 billion was said to have been spent on Independent Power Project and N 15 billion on Gas Turbine, Port Harcourt still suffers from epileptic energy. I was not allowed to enter the project sites to verify what goes on there.

Meanwhile, contrary to secular posturing of the constitution, the Governor donated millions to churches: N 80 million to Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, N 15 million to Christ Church Interdenominational in Port Harcourt and N 20 million to a church where his sister-in-law got married.

With what I saw and scandals flying, I sought the views of Alabo T.O. Graham-Douglas, Chairman of the opposition RDM and Odili’s benefactor. Indeed legends had it that Odili was schemed and crowned at the residence of Chief Douglas in 1999 before his presentation to the voters. He opened up on a number of issues. He confessed he was part of those who toiled to foster Odili on Rivers State. I asked him his impression of the Odili regime. He said “woeful, disgraceful and that I am ashamed I was party to those who engineered the enthronement”.

I asked Chief Douglas on the purported false performance claims of Governor Peter Odili. He said a look at the revenue profile of Rivers State, they are third largest recipients of good sums of money from Federation Account besides internally generated revenue, but “there is nothing tangible and very obvious you can today see apart from some deceptive, non-functional traffic lights and some ill-designed, caricature type of buildings put in place like Aggrey Road and Bende Street”.

He accused Odili of phantom Projects, appropriated through the back door, not utilized for the items budgeted for. When I asked him on the Millennium Center, Refinery, New Assembly Complex and new Government House, he flatly denied their existence and described them as conduits. When I pressed him to discuss them, he said they formed part of his petition to the PDP National Working Committee and Presidency and he does not want to preempt them. When I raised the issue of Independent Power Project and Odili’s Gas Turbine Project, Alabo T.O. Graham-Douglas insisted that they constitute part of Odili’s drainpipe to siphon money.

He justified their foisting of Odili in 1999 as part of Rivers politics to integrate the mainland people into governance because the Riverine people were ruling since the creation of the State. But he admitted they designed the programme in “such a way that we zeroed down to Odili from the mainland. We were deceived because he gave impression of a decent, humble, God fearing personality”. He said he wrote a detailed petition to his party and presidency to investigate claims of Odili and since I happen to be in Port Harcourt, I can go out myself and verify.

According to him, the press can be bought over to write nonsense about mischievous claims.

I spoke with Yime Nunieh. Yowika, the lawyer of the Ogonis who confirmed the widespread disenchantment against Peter Odili and their determination to unseat him. I also spoke with Sam Agwor, P.J. Egbe and Alfred Adonye Allison and they all concurred. I even attended a congress of Rivers Democratic Movement and the crowd was awesome. They threatened to march on the streets of Port Harcourt to show who rules the minds of the people. I went to the Government House but the Governor was out of the state.

I spoke extensively with Governor Peter Odili’s Chief Press Secretary Mr. A. Nwikinaka who flatly denied all the allegations. He said they mix-up budgets with actual spending and that though these sums were budgeted for, they were not actually spent. He insisted the Rivers Democratic Movement is a gang up against the Governor for personal reasons by leaders who are denied personal favours. He believes Odili has performed and would win a second term.

It is therefore obvious to me that local disenchantment added to the volatile nature of the Niger Delta is a combustible combination. It is necessary the Federal Government and all interested stakeholders get to the ground in Rivers State and do a thorough, fair investigation. Otherwise we may all be sitting on a keg of gunpowder as dangerous as riverine oil and gas.

ABUBAKAR JIKA teaches at the Department of Mass Communications, Bayero University, Kano.