Deltans have been told to disregard media reports claiming that the deputy governor of the state, Sir Monday Onyeme is currently angry over the looting of his office at the Government House, Asaba, and his lodge in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by hoodlums allegedly loyal to his predecessor, Kingsley Otuaro.
According to the report in some media, (not National Point) Onyeme, who was sworn in as deputy governor alongside the state governor, Sheriff Oborevwori on Monday, May, 29, 2023 in Asaba, was shocked to discover that several government properties ranging from gadgets, light bulbs, air conditioners, new and old cars among others, have been looted from his office and other offices under his purview at the Government House, Asaba.
According to the report, a senior staff in the deputy governor’s office, who spoke on account of anonymity for fear of being witch-hunted revealed that a director in the office who is a kinsman of the immediate past deputy governor, was allegedly involved in the looting and knows much about all that happened.
It was alleged that nothing was spared in the looting as they looted household properties including beds and chairs from the lodge and the aides’ quarters at DBS Road, Asaba.
Even electric bulbs, air-conditioners (ACs), smallest household items and furniture were allegedly removed from all offices and official quarters.
But in a swift reaction, Comrade Fidelis Egugbo, a renowned journalist and author based in Asaba, disclosed that he was at the said office on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 when Chief (Sir) Monday Onyeme, assumed duty and the office was intact ‘without a pin missing or the office requiring renovation.’
Egugbo, who was Special Assistant to former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on media, told journalists at the Deputy Governor’s Office Complex in Asaba on Thursday, June 8, that the news was based on the figment of the imagination of the writer.
“This is to inform the public that a report alleging that the Office of the Deputy Governor of Delta State was looted is false, baseless and uncalled for.
“It is sad that at this age when information can easily be verified, some individuals could just sit in their houses and concoct news stories, and funny enough, some persons are taking such unfounded story seriously; a news story that has no author or by-line, as we say in the media.
“Most of us are aware that, from the inception of this administration, I have worked closely with the Deputy Governor of Delta State, Chief (Sir) Monday Onyeme, and I was with him when he assumed duty; till date, he is still using the furniture that his predecessor used. The office was not renovated, not to talk about repainting, and there is no iota of truth in that report.
“As an individual, I have accompanied him on a visit to his official residence and his predecessor, Deacon Kingsley Otuaro, personally took him around the premises before his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
“This administration is less than three weeks old, and our colleagues in the media should desist from engaging in publishing outright falsehood to get mileage in terms of readership and also, avoid sensationalism or news stories that will heat up the polity,’’ he said.
Asked why he had to respond on behalf of the deputy governor, Egugbo said, “you are aware that from the day that the deputy governor assumed duty, I have been working closely with him, and I can confidently tell you as a journalist who is in the know, that the report was unfounded.”
Egugbo later conducted some journalists around the premises of the Deputy Governor’s Office.
