Members and leadership of Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSCON), Delta State chapter, have thrown their weight behind immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa on the appropriation of 13 percent derivation funds that accrued to the state during his time as governor.
The group spoke following various discontent voices over the fund in which a group led by Comrade Sheriff Mulade had protested recently in Abuja challenging the former governor to account for how he utilised the fund while he held sway in the state.
But briefing newsmen in Warri, state chairman of HOSTCON, Comrade Sunday Ndidi Emujeke, said that the allegations of misappropriation of 50 percent accruable to the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC) from the 13% derivation fund, were all campaign of calumny.
“We consider the orchestrated campaign as a calculated attempt to mislead, confuse and incite the unsuspecting public against the person of Dr Okowa by his traducers
“There is a deliberate attempt to distort the facts, misinform, and hoodwink the populace into fighting their proxy war against the past governor.
“Disguising under an amorphous body ‘members of Oil and Gas Community of Delta State’, these questionable characters are nothing but purveyors of lies and acting from a political script prepared by their unscrupulous paymasters”.
The group however described the protesters and signatories to the petition alleging misappropriation of the funds as “persons of questionable characters whose stock-in-trade is to peddle lies and engage in extortion and blackmail”.
The group maintained that the funds earmarked for the development of the oil and gas bearing communities were judiciously used by the immediate past governor and therefore passed a vote of confidence on him.
“These so-called community leaders who wrote the frivolous petition quoting the figure of “A Trillion Plus” are very ignorant of business of governance. They are just hireling on a smear campaign and have no mandate to speak for the people”, the group maintained in the press conference statement also signed by HOSCON State secretary, Joseph Lamiengha.
When asked if they were not under financial inducement to make the claims that the immediate past governor judiciously used the 13 percent derivation funds going by the fact that the road leading to their Secretariat along Uti road, Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state, was in deplorable shape, the group dismissed collecting money from anyone to back Okowa against the campaigners.
