EFCC releases Okowa on bail, confiscates international passport
Story by Victor Itodo ABUH
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized the international passport of Ifeanyi Okowa, the former governor of Delta State, following his arrest on November 4, 2024, over allegations of diverting N1.3 trillion in oil derivation funds.
The N1.3 trillion, allocated from the federation account as 13% derivation funds between 2015 and 2023, was allegedly misappropriated.
Okowa is also accused of failing to account for an additional N40 billion purportedly invested in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas and purchasing a major bank’s shares worth N40 billion for an eight per cent equity stake in an offshore LNG.
According to EFCC sources, Okowa was taken into custody at the EFCC office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He was released on bail on Wednesday after fulfilling the conditions, which included surrendering his travel documents.
“Okowa is no longer in our custody. He was released last Wednesday after meeting his bail conditions, which include depositing his travel documents with the commission, pending the conclusion of our investigations of the allegations against him.
“The sum allegedly is too huge to take risks,” a source explained.
In response to the allegations, Okowa called the claims of misappropriating N1.3 trillion “laughable and false” during a solidarity visit from the national leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union.
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He emphasised that his administration faced financial challenges in its early years, highlighting difficulties in paying salaries and pensions due to limited funds.
“They have forgotten that the first in three years we came into office – 2015, 2016, and 2017 – the money that was coming into the state was not even enough to pay salaries at all,” Okowa stated, noting that Delta State’s salary expenditures reached over N11 billion monthly due to a workforce exceeding 56,000 employees.
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