Return Ibori loot or invest it in Delta State, Okowa tells FG

Delta State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has appealed to the Federal Government to return the £4.2 million recovered from former governor James Ibori or invest it in specified projects in the state.

Okowa, who spoke during the quarterly media interaction with journalists in Asaba, said his government had written letters to the attorney general of the federation and the presidency and had appealed to them on the need to return the funds to the state or channel it to projects.

“Now that the money is in the country we are in the process of making sure it is returned to the state,” Okowa said. “Letters have been written and we have made appeals to Mr president and the attorney general of the federation.

“We asked for two things, it’s either the money is returned to us or the money is applied to projects in Delta State and we have suggested some projects to which the money can be applied. The £4.2 million is about N2.2 billion by current exchange rates.”

Okowa also said his decision to dissolve and rejig the state executive council was informed by the need to enable the government “work without stress, and to enable people to pursue their interests.

The governor described the security situation in the country as worrying and that Delta State is not spared saying “this is not the land of our dream, where it is now difficult to travel on land, not because of an accident but because of criminals.

He said the meeting by the Southern governors in Asaba and the far-reaching decisions they took was in the best interest of the country saying the resolutions would move the nation forward, unite and create development for Nigeria

He disclosed that another meeting of the southern governors was in the offing where they would follow up on the earlier decisions in the first meeting.