HOW LAURETTA ONOCHIE IS FIGHTING TIMIPRE SYLVA’S GUBERNATORIAL AMBITION.
LAURETTA ONOCHIE– The MD of NDDC Samuel Ogbukwu was nominated to the Board of the NDDC by HE Timipre Sylva, the former minister of Petroleum.
As the chief accounting officer of the board, Ogbukwu is in charge of the finances of NDDC.
For checks and balances, the MD cannot use the financial resources of the NDDC, without the approval of the board.
But the MD is not used to obeying rules and regulations. He has spent over N200bn, backdating some, without board authorisation.
The MD is using the resourses to build a political empire for himself in preparing to run for the governorship of Bayelsa State in 2028.
Samuel Ogbuku is fighting Timipreye Sylva behind the scenes but pretending that he is for him.
It was reported that he spent $3 million of NDDC’s money to compromise the team that was deployed to conduct the APC primary election that Timipreye Sylva emerged as the Governorship candidate of the APC for the forthcoming Bayelsa Governorship election.
The aim was to stop David Lyon, a stronger candidate who could have, easily, defeated Duoye Diri as he did four years. In a free, fair and credible primary, David Lyon would have won. He could have run for two terms, pushing Samuel Ogbuku’s ambition to eight years waiting time.
With Timi Sylva, Ogbukwu is not sure of succeeding him. With Duoye Diri with whom he has a secret pact, he only waits for four years.
As a result, Ogbukwu, working with the former Acting MD, Emmanuel Audu Ohwavborua, is using hundreds of billions of NDDC’s money to secretly fund the campaign of Governor Diri.
Having secretly entered into a pact with Governor Diri to hand over to him after his 2nd tenure, he can only lie to Sylva, using Lauretta Onochie, as his alibi for not supporting him.
Still pretending to be Sylva’s staunch supporter, Ogbukwu has manipulated Sylva and some Niger Delta stakeholders into believing that Lauretta Onochie is the reason he is not funding Sylva’s campaign.
The tough fight against Lauretta Onochie, the NDDC’s Chairman contrived by the MD and his cohorts is a red herring and a decoy to give the impression to Timipre Sylva and other power brokers in the Niger Delta region that she is the wheel in the non-progress of the NDDC.
The MD is not even taking care of the needs of the Board such as sitting allowances of Committees.
Just recently the sitting allowances of the board members were paid even though they have been sitting since January 2023.
Lauretta has no access to the funds of the NDDC, how has she stopped the MD in his spending spree?
This is a bad boy who is playing a selfish game, which includes a choice palatial home in Banana Island in Lagos, another in the UK, etc.
According to a source close to Ogbukwu who is unhappy that he is deceiving Timipre Sylva, Lauretta Onochie has nothing to do with his looting spree and who he supports in the upcoming Bayelsa gubernatorial elections. They should just leave this woman alone.
Pascal Ononye
Writes from the Netherlands 🇳🇱
