N20m Scandal Hits Warri Carnival

WARRI—Trouble looms in Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, as the chief promoter of Warri Carnival Enterprises and initiator of the carnival, Sunny Nikoro, has petitioned Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to ask chairman of the commission, Mr. Oritsuwa Kpogho, to account for the N20 million allegedly disbursed to yet-to-be-identified individuals for the hosting.
Nikoro said his outfit applied for sponsorship of the first ever Warri Carnival through DESOPADEC vide a letter dated September 2, 2013.
The petition, which was accompanied with relevant correspondences, added that the application was considered and the N20 million duly approved by Delta State House of Assembly in the 2013/2014 budget.
It said: “To our rude shock, when we requested that the money be remitted to Warri Carnival Enterprises account, we were told that the money had been disbursed to an unknown beneficiary.
“Warri Carnival Enterprises is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Therefore, by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, any other body that goes by the name Warri Carnival or purported to have received monies on our behalf is a product of fraud, only intended to deceive and defraud the government and people of the state.”
Nikoro appealed to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to step into the matter and direct the chairman of DESOPADEC to do the needful before it was too late.
Efforts to get the commission’s chairman to comment on the allegation proved abortive as calls put across to his cell phone were not answered.
However, Vanguard was able to get through to the Head of Media in DESOPADEC, Mr. Rutherford, who said he was not competent to comment on the matter and referred Vanguard back to the chairman.