A socio-political group, Bayelsa New Face Initiative (BNFI) has asked the incumbent Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, to demand the immediate refund of about fifteen billion Naira (N15 billion) being money allegedly diverted by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, during his tenure as governor of the State.
The funds are said to be the initial mobilisation of about N9 billion to Fak Engineering for the Glorydrive and another sum of N6.8 billion allegedly paid to Moreno Construction Company for the Nembe-Brass road with nothing tangible on ground to justify the huge sums of money collected.
In a statement in Yenagoa, the BNFI State Coordinator, Comrade Charles Ikio, said Chief Sylva has a question to answer over the funds allegedly paid out to the two contractors for no job done.
Comrade Ikio, who pointed out that the group may be forced to compel more investigations and judicial interpretations of the alleged fraud, reminded Bayelsans that it was because of these unaccounted funds and lack of capacity on the part of the contractors that the immediate past Governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, in 2012 revoked the two contracts.
“We have done our investigation and we can tell you that Chief Sylva is owing Bayelsa State Government, because the contractors did not do any meaning job that is commensurate with those huge funds. That was a big scam. How could you pay contractors such money with zero job done?”
“We suspect him strongly. He should return those money. Do you care to know the value of N15 billion as at 2010 or 2011? Sylva cannot absolve himself of complicity,” Ikio stated.
The BNFI State Co-ordinator noted that Chief Sylva has refused to change his attitude to leadership position even now as a Minister, a portfolio that has not attracted any meaningful benefit to Bayelsa State after almost four years in office.
