PDP Presidential Campaign Spokesman Reveals Those Behind Smear Campaigns Against Okowa

The immediate past Commissioner for Information in Delta State, Mr Charles Aniagwu, has said those who are castigating his principal, the former Governor of the state, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, were those who lost out in the governorship contest.

According to him, smear campaigns against Okowa were sponsored by individuals who were struggling to get to power to control the resources of the state but failed.

Aniagwu, in a news conference on Friday in Asaba, said the campaigns of calumny against the former governor commenced in the build-up to the 2023 Governorship election in the state.

The former governor’s aide noted that “You will recall very well that ahead of the 2023 general elections, there were individuals that have their own candidates in the PDP. They tried as much as possible to see how they can sell their candidates which we consider as their democratic rights.

“We also reason that the management of the resources of the state and the sustenance of the accountability which Okowa introduced as part of his governance principle is something that is paramount so that at the end of the day, the great people of Delta State will have value for the resources that God has blessed us with beneath the soil of our dear state.

“In the course of the build-up to the 2023 elections, Deltans converge particularly members of the PDP at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, they elected a candidate of their choice and at the end of the day overwhelmingly, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori won to become the candidate of the PDP and we all saw what followed.

“Individuals who are involved in this struggle who want to have a grasp of the resources of the state proceeded to the law court, went to the media invoking lots of campaign of calumny against the then Governor, Sen. Dr Ifeanyi Okowa and cast aspersions against the candidate of the Party (PDP) which is the present governor but Deltans knew where they are coming from just like they said, “The Egyptians you see today, you will see them no more.

“This individuals while they were members of the PDP proceeded to pitch tent with the APC, the opposition party in the state, that didn’t work out they went to the extent if you recall in the course of the election even try of ambushing the results and some of the electoral officers in some of their local governments and that did not also give them the victory they are looking for because the victory is not in their direction.

“Now the election is won and lost, the government is being formed, they have continued with the bitterness of losing that election rather than waiting for the next election which comes up in 2027 they have gone to court though it is within their democratic rights but rather than staying in the court, they went to the media to begin to tell lies which is totally at variance with the reality.”

The former Commissioner disclosed that the past administration expended over N2.6 trillion on capital projects across the 25 local government areas and the payment of salaries and running of government within eight years.

“Out of this amount, N1.4 trillion was spent on recurrent expenditure for salaries, overhead expenses and day-to-day running of government while N989 billion was spent on capital projects including over N50 billion so far spent on the Ughelli-Asaba dualisation project.

“During our administration, we embarked on adjustment of salaries to what we call the living wage and that of course meant that we had consequential adjustments which affected those on pensions taking our wage bill to as much as N10bn every month.

“If you calculate the wage bill alone for a period of 96 months that we held sway, we spent close to N900bn on the issue of salaries alone not to talk about overhead expenses as well as other costs of running government,” he said.