Uduaghan links missing 6 million dollars New Ugborodo project money to GMoU

In a swift reaction to his alleged involvement in the missing controversial 6 million dollars allegedly paid by Chevron for the development   of the New Ugborodo project, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan says the money was paid into an Eco bank account in 2008 and lodged under the custody of Itsekiri Regional Development Committee, IRDC.

 Dr. Uduaghan stated that against the much publicized notion, the money paid by Chevron came in its naira equivalent of seven hundred and five million naira December 18, 2008 and is now over nine hundred and sixty eight million.

The Governor who noted that the money has not been expended following internal issues in Ugborodo declared that he has directed Chevron and Eco bank to make further clarifications on the controversy surrounding the 6 million dollars.

Fresh Angle can report that the governor’s statement on the alleged missing 6 million dollars may have come as a major surprise  to stakeholders in the GMoU as it affects  the 23 Itsekiri oil  and gas producing  as well as impacted communities because his statement on the controversial money is the first time the New Ugborodo  project money is being linked to the Itsekiri GMoU fund being managed by Chevron established Community Engagement Management  Board, CEMB.

Immediate past chairman of Itsekiri Regional Development Committee, IRDC and current Delta State Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Mr. Omamofe  Pirah who attended the governor’s briefing  at the Government House Annexe in Waarri Tuesday January 21 corroborated Dr. Uduaghan’s position, stating that the said amount was paid into IRDC account in 2008 when he was chairman of IRDC and Delta State government  signed for it.

Ugborodo is just one of 23 Itsekiri oil producing and impacted communities under the IRDC and it was not clear as at the time of filing this report while the much anticipated project is yet to kick off despite the release of the money since 2008.

Speculations have linked Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and some Ugborodo leaders   to the missing money, with some Ugborodo indigenes claiming that the money has been diverted by the governor and some of his loyalists.

×