In a last gasp to further dent the image of the Okowa/Otuaro administration of Delta State which ends in less than a week, some top management officials popularly called the “3 WISE MEN” and some collaborators have allegedly denied the Deputy Governor Press Crew of about thirteen million naira (N13,000,000:00); a Parting Gift to them as approved by the outgoing State Government.
A whistleblower who pleaded anonymity, revealed that, the Deputy Governor’s office located in the old Government House premises, was in a near turmoil atmosphere as arguments and tempers flared over the discovery of the alleged fraudulent act of these very senior civil servants alongside their conspirators.
It was not cleared as at Press time, if the issue had been reported to the Deputy Governor but we however gathered that, the intervention of an aide to the Deputy Governor, pressured the self styled “3 WISE MEN” and their conspirators into a lengthy closed door meeting to workout modalities to cover the show of shame and consequently to avoid the wrath of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his Deputy Dcn. Kingsley Burutu Otuaro in whose office the mess oozes from.
On investigation, our correspondent discovered that the 3 WISE MEN being referred to in the Office of the Deputy Governor as three ‘crooks’ heading the top management Civil servants offices with the real names- Mr. Keneke Emotoghan, the Director, Mr. Maxwell Awuse, the Permanent Secretary (PS) and Mr. Tennyson Oghoghomeh, a top official in the Accounting Department.
The Mr. Keneke Emotoghan was a Grade Level 13 officer, was transferred to the office from the State Ministry of Information immediately his kinsman resumed as Deputy Governor.
He allegedly used the ethnic influence to transfer the then Director, Mrs. Christy Eruotor out to a lowly Emergency agency paving way for him who was a far junior, to be in such acting capacity. Sources disclosed that, “he used all tribal connections to hold on to the position till years later when he was promoted to the rank of an Assistant Director”
He was also alleged to had been overlapping the schedules of the Chief Protocol Officer (CPO), coveting all rewards accrued to the CPO to himself. “Keneke Emotoghan is a very greedy man whom no one in the office from cleaner to political appointees talk good of.” Our source added.
One of the conspirators of the fraud, whose name will not be disclosed for fear of victimization by the 3 WISE MEN, disclosed that if the gift is not harmonized and dispensed to all as planned and approved by the Governor and his Deputy, the issue will definitely sow a bad blood in the Convoy and the entire office of the Deputy Governor even as a new Deputy Governor and Governor take over on May 29.
Our source also disclosed that virtually all members of the Press Crew were deliberately omitted from the doctored list with which the 3 WISE MEN and Co have resolved to use in dispensing the Parting Gift.
It was also discovered through further investigation by this medium, that the Protocol Crew members all had their names and Parting cash gift intact with five hundred thousand naira (N500,000:00) allocated to each of them while the security and drivers who along with the Press Crew make up the Convoy Crew have no problems with their allocations as well.
All efforts by this medium to get the reaction of the Permanent Secretary Mr. Maxwell Awuse and Mr. Keneke Emotoghan to comment on the development failed as they didn’t pick their calls or respond to text messages sent to their MTN phone numbers.
When contacted on phone for his response to the allegations, Mr. Tennyson Oghoghomeh, declined comment saying, “I don’t am interested”.
It would be recalled that a similar effort to doctor the list of Casual/Contract Staff list approved for employment into the Delta Broadcasting Service Asaba, got the attention of the Governor who promptly ordered the halt of the exercise and personally revalidated the list before the 65 hard working young men and women were issued their appointment letters about a month ago.
