By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA – Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Dr Cairo Ojougbo has written President Muhammadu Buhari over what he described as a shady budgetary process undertaken by the Delta state government in cahoot with the state assembly.

In the letter dated October 4, 2017, Ojougbo, now a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC said; “Ten members of the Delta State House of Assembly informed me (in strict confidence; that their names and families be protected) of the high level of fraud that is currently ongoing in their legislative House where they ply their trade as Law makers. According to them they were emboldened when they learnt that I had left the PDP on 16th September 2017 and they felt the urgent need to now confide in me that I have left the PDP.

“The very important issue at hand is that the members confessed to me that up till 3rd day of October they have not seen, sighted or read a copy of the Delta State 2017 budget.

“The Hon. Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Sherrif Oborevwori signed only the last page of the budget and returned same to the Government; the Government then fills in the blank arbitrarily and apportions appropriation at will. The Chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the Delta State House of Assembly and the entire members have not sighted the budget break down and estimates as the conventional practice, the actions of the Speaker with the active connivance of the Government amounts to issuance of a blank 2017 budget and appropriation for Delta State”.

He challenged any member of the Delta State House of Assembly to produce a copy of the approved budget estimate signed by the Chairman Appropriation Committee, the Clerk and the Speaker within 24 hours in order to put a lie to his claim.

Part of the letter reads; “I therefore in all humility call on Mr. President who is credited by the International Committee not to own a single house and bank account outside Nigeria, who won the presidential general election against an incumbent President due to your anti – corruption credentials to kindly deploy your good offices to cause a thorough investigation into the fraud currently in Delta State through the Blank Budget and appropriation issued by the Delta State House of Assembly by the anti graft agencies.

“Mr. President, I humbly on behalf of the good people of Delta State plead and solicit of you to passionately cause and direct the relevant Government Agencies to investigate the above allegation against the Delta State House of Assembly.

I want to assure you, as the 2019 general election draws near, that over two million votes are at stake in Delta State, your reward for addressing the fraud in Delta State shall be total unequivocal support for you and your Government and your Great Party the APC.

“Mr. President, Delta State is dying. Kingly direct the EFCC, DSS, ICPC and Code of Conduct to investigate”.

There’s no Truth in Ojoubo’s claims -Okowa

In his reaction, Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr Ehiedu Aniagu said there was no truth in Dr Ojougbo’s claims saying if he must play opposition politics, he should play it decently and not say things that lack common sense.

“The allegation is not possible because when the budget was passed, it was published. When you even go to the Internet, you will see when it was passed and other details. There is no way anybody would say that it was blank. The governor as the Chief Executive Officer of the state can also decide which aspect of the budget to give priority funding. I have ever seen such a thing called blank budget”, he explained.