Benue to recover money over Okupe’s contract, others Lawyer admits deal, says no crime by Okupe ACN, PDP continue war of words

According to them, the state
government pressured the firm to complete the projects but it failed until the
contract duration elapsed, adding that the company is still indebted to the
state government to the tune of N635.7 million after about N55.2 million was
recovered from it.

The Guardian also discovered that among the 230 kilometres of
rural road contract were the University of Agriculture-Gbajimba, Sankera-Ayati-Sai
and Aliede-Obariketo roads.

Yesterday, lawyers to Okupe confirmed that the Benue State
government actually “awarded a rural road contract to Messrs Value Trust
Investments Ltd, one of the companies in which Okupe served as chairman.”

In a statement signed by Yemi Gbonegun, the Lagos-based firm, Yemi
Gbonegun and Co., described the contract award as “purely a commercial
transaction.”

The firm explained that trouble however started when the
administration of the state changed hands and incumbent governor (Suswam) took
over from former Governor George Akume. “Disputes arose as to the payment of
outstanding payment certificate submitted by Value Trust Investments Ltd” as a
result of which the matter was referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), which conducted a thorough investigation into it.

“There was no evidence of any criminality,” the statement said,
adding that “the parties then agreed to settlement by arbitration and the issue
is in the process of being resolved amicably by both parties.

“Our chambers represents Value Trust Investments Ltd in the
negotiations,” the statement added.

A source at the EFCC confirmed that Okupe and his company’s file
had been with the commission and would be treated at the appropriate time.

According to the source, the file is connected with the road
contracts in Benue State to the tune of N2.3 billion.

Residents of the of the areas where these rural roads were to be
constructed, Atoo Sokpo, Benjamin Verashe and James Torwa, told The Guardian
that they were waiting for the government to compel the contractor to complete
the projects’ execution.

Indeed in 2004, Okupe after signing the contract for the
construction of the rural roads in Makurdi, addressed the press, where he
promised the people of the state of timely completion of the project.

To the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which has asked President
Goddluck Jonathan to fire Okupe over the allegations, comments by the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency on the fraud charges against Okupe,
are far from the issues at stake.

Instead of using aides to speak for Okupe, the opposition party
wants the PDP and the Presidency to respond directly to allegations that Okupe
and one of his companies obtained contracts from Imo and Benue states and
failed to execute the jobs after collecting the mobilisation fees put at
several hundreds millions of naira.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Lai Mohammed, ACN said rather than respond directly to the weighty
allegations against Okupe, the ruling party and “its hired guns masquerading as
public affairs commentators and analysts had chosen to play the ostrich.”

But the PDP, which faulted ACN’s allegations, also accused the
party of shielding the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr.
Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who is standing trial for allegedly stealing and laundering
N500 million.

The PDP also decried the campaign of calumny against the person of
Okupe, especially by the ACN. It condemned calls on the President to relieve
Okupe of his appointment, describing it as sheer blackmail that Jonathan would
not fall for.

In a statement yesterday, PDP’s Deputy National Secretary, Binta
Masi Garba, said Jonathan by the appointment, “has taken the right decision to
engage members of the public on salient issues of national importance.”

He described Okupe as “capable of efficiently handling the assignment
given to him” and the President as constitutionally empowered to give
appointments to “deserving Nigerians under the presidential system that we
currently operate in the country”.

It said; “We have noted the copious references by the ACN through
its spokesman, Mr. Lai Mohammed, to the purported unwholesome acts in the
execution of some projects in Benue and Imo states several years ago. It is our
considered opinion that issues of contracts are basically civil issues between
contracting parties and certainly most contract documents contain clauses for
dispute resolutions”.

It added that since the anti-corruption agency, the EFCC, had come
out to say that Okupe was not currently under any criminal investigation by the
commission as claimed by the ACN nor had he been indicted by any court of
competent jurisdiction or any panel of investigative committee, “it stands to
reason under our laws that he should be deemed innocent until otherwise
proven.”

But the ACN lamented that the only feeble defence so far was that
the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly should quit and that the
opposition party should be silent because with “cheats and liars” in its fold,
it lacks the moral authority to raise the issue of corruption against Okupe.

Mohammed said the response was “nothing but a deliberate attempt
to obfuscate issues and a case of comparing apples with oranges.”

ACN said it was not covering up anything for Ikuforiji because he
had been charged before a court of law and pleaded not guilty. “The law
presumes him innocent until proven guilty. The case is still on ongoing,
therefore, any call for his resignation is an attempt to stampede justice.”

The party argued that Okupe’s case was different because he had
been confronted with allegations of swindling both Imo and Benue states and
cannot continue to be the President’s spokesman without clearing himself of
these charges.

On the claims that ACN is a party of crooks and cheats and
therefore cannot call for Okupe’s head, Mohammed said they were unsubstantiated
and laughable, adding that, “we make bold to say that if the PDP can summon
courage to look at itself in the mirror, what will stare back at it is nothing
but corruption in its most unadulterated form.”

ACN accused the PDP of infecting Nigeria with the most dangerous
virus of corruption in the last 13 years to the extent that Nigeria is now
ranked one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

It urged Nigerians to note that in the National Assembly alone
between 1999 and today, three Senate President and three Speakers of the House
of Representatives have been consumed by corruption, all of them PDP members.

The party added that “two former chairmen of the PDP were forced
out of office on account of allegations of corruption, a third was the chairman
of the Pipeline Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) whose role in the
fuel subsidy scam is a subject of investigation and yet two sons of PDP
chairmen are facing corruption charges as a result of their involvement in the
same fuel subsidy scam.”

It continued: “Twelve former governors of the PDP are today before
various courts on corruption charges. At least six former PDP ministers are
still facing corruption charges. It is on record that a PDP President openly
accused his Vice President of corruption and attempted to strip him of his
office while a PDP federal legislator died in jail while awaiting trial…”

Already, Suswam has said despite the pressure on him to seek the
prosecution of Okupe over the alleged road contract scam, it would not be a
priority as he was not involved in the deal.

Suswam made the clarification in Otukpo during an interaction with
journalists. The governor said his predecessor was in a better position to
address the problem because he did not give him any handover note.

“I wasn’t involved in that deal. The media aide to Senator Akume
asserted that there were such contracts and there were issues. So, I’m waiting
for them and I think it will get to us somewhere.”