LAGOS APRIL 5TH (URHOBOTODAY)-A week to the governor election, the chances of Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa winning the governorship seems to have suffered a setback as he is being invited to court to explain what he knows about alleged N185m debt.
A former Commissioner in Delta State, Dumbiri Uweh, has dragged the governorship flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party before the High Court in Asaba. The plaintiff, who is a core chieftain of the PDP, accused Okowa of wanting to defraud him of money. Uweh put the money involved at N185 million.
He prayed the court to grant him an order compelling Okowa to pay the debt. In a writ of summon, number A/33/2014, filed by the the plaintiff’s counsel, F.I. Egwunye, he alleged that as at April 1 this year, Okowa was owing Dumbiri N185 million.
Egwunye said in the writ of summon on behalf of Uweh that, “The defendant has failed, refused and/or neglected to pay the said sum to the claimant despite several written and oral demands made by the claimant upon the defendant to do so.
“I contested against Prince Sam Obi for the 2007 House of Assembly primaries for the Ika North East state constituency in which I defeated Prince Sam Obi. Obi’s name was wrongfully and illegally substituted with my name and I had no option than to file a petition before the Elections Petitions Tribunal.
“In the process of the legal battle, Obi was elected Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly and later Acting Governor of the state upon the nullification of the election of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan as governor in the last quarter of 2010.
“As soon as Obi was sworn-in as acting governor, I was approached for out of court settlement meeting in Abuja in order to allow for stability in the polity by the Obi of Owa in Ika North East Local Government and [Rtd] Hon. Justice S. A. Ehiwario and some political leaders on behalf of Obi in the state when it was eminent that the case would swing in my favour where I was begged to withdraw my case against Obi but the issue was not resolved until the second meeting held in Grand Hotel Asaba, Delta State capital, where Senator Ifeanyi Okowa served as the mediator on behalf of his friend, Obi.
“ In attendance were the Owa monarch, Hon Justice S. A. Ehiwario (Rtd), Jonathan Nnajiofor, my lawyer, Mr E. Azinge, SAN and his wife other people Obi sent earlier on were in attendance. It is of note that all the meetings were convened by Okowa.
“That very meeting resolved that Prince Sam Obi should pay me the sum of N200 million as my campaign expenses apart from been appointed a commissioner in the incoming administration in the state from May 29, 2011. After that meeting, I was reliably informed that the N200 million has been given to Senator Okowa but only paid the sum of N15 million into my Zenith Bank account in different intervals with different names through Senator Okowa and till date he has vehemently refused to deliver to me the remaining balance of N185 million till date and all my efforts to see that the balance is paid has fallen into deaf ears and rather I am been intimidated, arrested, detained, harassed and threatened.”