Eddy Ogidi-Gbegbaje, Permanent Secretary, Delta State Government House and Protocol, is currently enmeshed in a case of financial malfeasance running into several millions of naira.
Sources at the Government House, who confided in SaharaReporters, disclosed that Ogidi-Gbegbaje had raised a memo for the renovation of the VVIP Guest House inside the facility in Asaba, the state capital, to the tune of N43,457,922.83m but only repainted the place and pocketed the rest of the money.
In a memo with tracking No. GHA.183/TI/150&151, obtained by SaharaReporters, Ogidi-Gbegbaje quoted the sum of N43,457,922.83m for the renovation and electrical maintenance works of the VVIP Guest House.
In the memo, the Permanent Secretary informed Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on the urgent need to renovate the guest house, which sources said was still in good condition as at the time the memo was raised.
“It was a deal that the Permanent Secretary had a vested interest in together with few other Government House officials. I can tell you that nothing like renovation and electrical maintenance was carried out in the guest house.
“It was only mere repainting and as usual, the rest is now history. Ogidi-Gbegbaje is good at raising such memos which is used as
conduit to steal public funds,” the sourcesaid.
When contacted over the issue, Commissioner for Housing in the state, Festus Ochonogor, noted that the project was a Government House project.
He said, “It is a Government House project. It is all encompassing. The figures may be striking but the project may be bigger than what it is. You don’t just look at figures.”
Reacting to the alleged scandal, Ogidi-Gbegbaje said, “That’s interesting. Please carry out your investigation properly.”