N8.4B DEBT DEFRAYMENT NOT THE DESOPADEC NEWS OBOREVWORI OWES STAKEHOLDERS

I read Charles Aniagwu's post on "Governor Sheriff Oborevwori Approves Release of N8.4 Billion to Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, to Settle Inherited Contract Liabilities."

Running through the feedback jubilations and praise singing of the governor in deliberate 'stomach infrastructure' induced reactions to the petty post by the State Information Commissioner, it's hard not to be emotional about the worsening impunity of misgovernment in Delta.

Seriously, such is not the DESOPADEC news stakeholders expect the governor to tell Deltans. Beyond the shameless self glorification intended by the governor, the claimed approval of release of money is not only puerile to the ears. It's meaningless, misleading, so inciting.

It's trite, so pedestrian of the governor to approve release of funds to DESOPADEC and celebrate it like Chinua Achebe's 'agama lizard'. The establishment law guarantees release of all accruals to the Commission. 

It is statutory, so binding on the governor to release those accruals as at when due for that matter. So the hyped approval of release of statutory funds he is under obligation to give is cosmetic, so academic. Then why the self glorification, why induce cheerleading into standing ovation?

And the said accruals are directly measurable, from simple arithmetics on the 13% Derivation accrued to the state. The law says 50% of the 13% derivation, in itself a manifestation of corrupt shortchanging of oil producing communities who need all the money to address challenges exclusive to their degraded environment from oil take from their homes.

It is as well malicious of Oborevwori and his talking aides to have qualified, as "inherited", the released debt defrayment funds. How inherited, we may ask. Their simple context would mean Oborevwori was not at the helms when the debt were being owed. But he was Speaker of the State Assembly and supervised oversights that endorsed the incurring of most of these debts, liabilities being referred.

For us, Oborovwori didn't announced his claimed approval of N8.4B release to defray DESOPADEC's liability. What is announced is the maddening corruption in DESOPADEC and his delight in sustaining that trajectory.

Under Okowa 8 years as Governor, by the establishment law, DESOPADEC was to received N545Billion (50%) of a total N1.09Trillion 13% Derivation received by the State. Okowa only gave the Commission N221.2Billion, leaving a whooping N323.8Billion diverted to extraneous spendings.

It's same attitude Oborevwori, Okowa's third term representative governor is sustaining. There is no reason DESOPADEC should be competing with the Delta State Government in debt accumulation, call it contract liabilities or whatever adjective you chose to qualify it.

DESOPADEC has no business, not under any pressure discharging its duties in gross deficits to the extent of owing contractors in billions or naira, particularly against the pedestrian projects local governments should be handling.

According to the Managing Director of DESOPADEC, Chief Festus Ochonogor, the debts cover a generalized "wide range of projects, including road construction, school rehabilitation, water schemes, jetties, and other community development initiatives."

Imagine. DESOPADEC owing billions of naira because it sank boreholes, renovated school and did shoddy roads and jetties that would have collapsed already. We challenge DESOPADEC to a monitoring and evaluation in audit of these suspicious projects.

From inception, DESOPADEC, aside the inclination to inflated contracts, has wasted the bulk of its finances to fund the self aggrandisement of its Board and management. 

Till date, the Commission still maintains retainerships with multiple hotels for bloated guests reservations for the private meeting and pleasures of Board members and hangers on.

This reckless spending is why the Commission basks in billions but accumulate liabilities for digging boreholes and repainting school classrooms. Too bad.

Note, the announcement of the N8.4B is silent on what fraction of the total liabilities that much could wipe off. Deliberately, no attempt at spelling the total debt owed. However tacitly, the impression is created that a lot more is still being owed when Aniagwu informed that only "contractors owed N20M below would be paid in full, those owed above N20M would receive 50% as first instalment", according to the news as captured by Punch.

Truth be said, the celebration of corruption in the N8.4B debt defrayment is not the DESOPADEC disclosure oborevwori owes stakeholders. 

What then do stakeholders want to hear from Oborevwori? Not much. Tell us how much has accrued to DESOPADEC till date under your administration? How much has he released thus far? How much is left to be release. 

You cannot have a statutory body with guaranteed finances and be releasing same monies to the Commission like you loaned to DESOPADEC. Be accountable to the Commission and not play to the gallery.

And for a closing prophesy, watch. Contractors owed, Board and Management of DESOPADEC will soon start dirty fight over the spread of the released debt payment funds. 

Soon we're going to be hearing contractors forces to share a fraction of their outstanding payment before they can benefit from the debt settlement. Soon somebody will cry out.

Above all, we need a DESOPADEC that is guaranteed its due allocations to genuinely discharge its mandate. When those in position to allocate values weaponise the funds, divert them by under-release to the Commission, its gives a clear license to the Board and management to manage the little release as they please.

As Olorogun Stephen Dieseruvwe reflected last year, "Without oil exploration and exploitation from host communities, Delta State wouldn’t be one of the beneficiaries of the 13% Derivation Fund and would only be stock only on the statutory component of FAAC allocations. 

"It is unjust and inhuman to deprive oil-producing communities of their rightful entitlement."

Zik Gbemre

November 6,2025 

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