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By Anslem Chuks Okoh

The recent invitation and interrogation of the former Governor of Delta State, His Excellency, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been twisted and rewritten into different shades of narratives that share strong characteristics with fiction.

Understandably, only members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) still writhing in the pain of their defeat in the 2023 governorship election went to town with versions of fabricated narratives beyond the reality of what transpired. One of such misinformation came in the form of an attempt to incite the clearheaded and clear-sighted youths of Delta State. In a poorly crafted and mangled piece titled “Okowa’s Maniac 1.3 trillion Naira Thievery: Why Delta State Youths Must Wake Up To Say Enough is Enough” by one Lord Davidson Onedju, an attempt was made to sustain the wrong narrative and entrench lies to deceive the youths of Delta State.

Before evaluating and putting a lie to Onedju’s fabricated and ill-conceived narrative, one must clarify a number of things that many unsuspecting people are yet to realize about what has been mischievously described by disgruntled elements as “Okowa’s arrest and detention by the EFCC”. Let us begin with questions as follows: was Dr. Okowa, really arrested by the EFCC? Did the EFCC say that it arrested Dr. Okowa? Did the EFCC detain Dr. Okowa? The answers to the foregoing are in the negative “no”! The EFCC never arrested Dr. Okowa. The man of dignity and integrity that he has always been, Dr. Okowa respectfully honoured the invitation of the EFCC. His invitation stems from a wrongheaded petition accusing him of misappropriating N1.3 trillion derivation funds for the eight years that he was Governor of Delta State. As it should be, the EFCC invited the former governor for questioning, and he honoured the invitation without having to flee or go underground as some of his former colleagues have been doing. His EFCC interrogators couldn’t finish with him in one day, and he had to stay with them in Port-Harcourt for the interrogation to be done with before returning home. The haters and wailers then went to town singing that Dr. Okowa was arrested and detained. Some of them even predicted that he was going to be charged to court the next day. They even predicted jail terms! The disease of ignorance!

The social media reflection of the story again calls to question the professionalism of the EFCC in handling alleged corruption cases in Nigeria and the tendency for media trial. If only the EFCC was professional, creative, and upholds adherence to due diligence, it probably would have dismissed the allegation of corruption against the former governor after carrying out its own diligent investigation.

Unfortunately, we have an EFCC that runs to the media space when it was yet to conclude investigation and end up feeding the public with untrue perspectives. The petition alleged that Dr. Okowa enriched himself with N1.3 trillion, which was the entire derivation money accruing to Delta State for eight years under his watch. So, is it logical to think or believe that Dr. Okowa appropriated every kobo of the entire funds that came to the state during his tenure? The implication of it being that he paid no salaries, built no schools, built no hospitals, funded no universities, funded no empowerment programmes, built no bridges, and did absolutely nothing at all for the eight years? He just put all of N1.3 trillion into his pocket and walked away?

The people of Delta State know better than the insinuations in the petition. They appreciate the giant strides recorded under the eight years of Dr. Okowa’s administration. The records show that Delta State was a frontline state in the development matrix in Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. It was among the three most dynamic and development oriented states in Nigeria. It was this realization that made the people of Delta State consider Dr. Okowa’s invitation by the EFCC as misplaced and ill-advised. That was why instead of rejoicing that he had been “caught”, they in one voice clamoured that he should be allowed to go home.

Lord Davidson Onedju, wonder where he was knighted and by who, and his sponsors had erroneously thought that the people, especially the youths of Delta State, would join the “crucify Dr. Okowa” bandwagon. But an appreciative population who easily attests to Dr. Okowa’s imperishable legacies chose to be in solidarity with the man they have come to fondly call “Ekwueme”. This is what hurts and hunts Onedju and his sponsors. It is all political, and the politics of 2027 is already unfolding. Their plot is to unsettle Dr. Okowa and put the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in disarray so that they can win Delta State come 2027. But they have failed.

The people of Delta State, particularly the youths, can attest to the many legacies of Dr. Okowa as Governor. There is hardly any sphere of development that he didn’t affect positively. For the sake of emphasis, the State was among the three most developed states in Nigeria during the period in focus. Dr. Okowa has nothing to fear, and should the EFCC charge him to court, he will make himself available, and vindication will certainly be his.

The truth is that the youths of Delta State stand in solidarity with the great leader that Dr. Okowa is. They will pay no heed to Onedju and his puppeteers.

* Anslem Chuks Okoh, wrote in from Asaba.