Pitfalls of Odili
By
Abubakar Jika
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.