Magu, it was gathered refused to approve the commencement of investigation following a 48-page petition written by the elders of the All Progressive Party (APC) against Okowa and others in the state.
The petition which was accompanied by supporting documents and bank details of some of the mentioned persons was filed since April 2020 but was not acted upon by the EFCC.
He was alleged to have sat on the petition from getting investigated, despite the weighty allegations in it, an EFCC source said.
But it was learned that the legal department of the Commission has opened an investigation into the matter following a directive by the new Acting Chairman.
The EFCC has beamed it searchlight on the Delta State governor, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa, his family members, and some of his aides over alleged massive financial fraud in the state.
Besides Okowa, the EFCC is looking into alleged illicit transactions done by Victor Ebegboni, Lawrence Oshiegbu, Lulu Enaboifo, Ross Uredi, and twenty-three others being official of the state government.
“We gathered that the EFCC is curious to know how a whooping sum of N150 million was used to buy a Lexus 570 armored car 2016 model in the same year for Gov. Okowa when the car is actually valued for N98 million in the year it was sold.”
According to the petitioners, the governor had earlier wasted state funds on the 10th September 2015 to the tune of N254.1 million to buy himself two official cars, when the same cars were sold for N173 million in the same year, while his crony, Ross Uredi supplied at inflated rates vehicles worth N741million for lawmakers in 2015 and N452. 7million also paid to same Ross to buy cars for Commissioners in the same year.
Also listed in the petition is the sprawling seven storey state secretariat under construction by the state government, which the governor’s elder and junior sisters are the sole contractors, determining who gets things done in the place.
The project which was initially valued for N13.6 billion has been jacked up to over N16 billion with all due process not followed.
In a document seen as submitted, the contractor of the job won the award based on nepotism as the state job is the biggest they have ever embarked on since they were formed.
One of the investigators who confided in us disclosed that all those mentioned in the petition will soon be invited to the headquarters as soon as they are done with their fact findings.