Politics

Orubebe in Fresh Trouble, Accused of Diverting N1.9bn

Published

8 years ago

August 4, 2016

Former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe seems to be in a hot soup following new revelations of massive corruption and abuse of public office.

People’s Democratic Party chieftain, Godsday Orubebe who rose to prominence on the Nigerian media space after disrupting a national electoral process in March, 2015 has been charged to court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over a recently uncovered gargantuan fraud.

The former Minister was charged before an Abuja High Court for allegedly diverting close N2billion naira meant for the dualisation of Section IV of the East-West Road in Delta State.

The politician who is also facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal was charged alongside Oludare Lawrence Alaba, Ephraim Towelde Zaki and Gitto Construction Limited on a five-count charge bordering on alleged corruption, diversion of funds and perjury, according to This Day newspaper.

He was accused of circumventing a Federal Executive Council, (FEC) approval for the dualisation of the Eket–Oron Road, part of the East-West Road which runs from Edo to Bayelsa states, by allegedly instructing the contractor, Gitto Construction, to rehabilitate it instead.

Orubebe and the co-accused persons are also charged with conferring undue advantage on the construction firm when they caused the money meant for compensating residents whose properties were marked for demolition paid to Gitto.

Court papers stated that the sum of N2,320,686,826.00 approved for payment of compensation to owners of properties that were to be demolished to make way for the dualisation of the road was paid to the contractor instead of the beneficiaries.