Governor Okowa Allegedly Releases Another N5 Billion To Compromise Court Of Appeal Judges

Delta State governor, Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa, came under suspicion once again for allegedly bribing the Court of Appeal judges in Benin with the massive sum of N5 billion.  

 
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa
According to an anonymous top government official, Governor Okowa enlisted the assistance of the Edo State Secretary to the Government (SSG), Professor Julius Ihonvbere, and the Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Cromwell Idahosa, to bribe the judges.
Opponents of the governor also accused him of bribing an election petition tribunal in order to procure a favorable ruling.  The All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate filed an appeal with the tribunal on October 26th alleging that Governor Okowa did not fairly win the April 11th governorship elections.
The anonymous government official confessed, "We [APC in Delta State] have done it before and we will do it again. We have successfully penetrated the Court of Appeals panel handling the appeals through the Edo State SSG and Chief Judge with a handsome amount of N5 billion.”
The official went on to confidently state that all of the justices provided assurances to Governor Okowa that the judgement would be upheld in favor of himself and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
When questioned about the methods used to secure the large sum of N5 billion, our anonymous source explained that funds came from a contract.  The contract in question was awarded by Governor Okowa ostensibly for the dualization of Sapele and Effurun-NPA roads in Warri.
The funds for this project were given to a subhead contractor, a crony of Governor Okowa’s, the subhead contractor then released cash as needed to the governor.  
A senior legal officer in the Delta State Ministry of Justice, who wished to remain anonymous, informed SaharaReporters that a deal was struck to issue a judgement in favor of the PDP in the recent governorship elections, as well as all future appeals made by the PDP.
The leadership of the PDP within Delta State has not been shy about the power the Party now wields in the courts of the State.  The Chairman of the Governing Council of Delta State University, and a staunch member of the PDP, Professor Sam Oyovbaire recently commentated that the appeal in Benin will meet the same fate as the October 26th decision.
The President of the group Democracy Watch, Jonathan Ossia, called upon Deltans to rally against the looting of State resources and the efforts of the PDP to maintain power in the State through any means necessary.
“Our silence allowed the governor to bribe tribunal judges with the vast sum of N5 billion. Today the Asaba airport upgrade is suffering because the money approved for the project was allegedly diverted to bribe tribunal judges," Mr. Ossai noted.........