•Vow to go to court, petition EFCC to stop LP Guber Candidate

The Delta Professionals Network (DPN), a socio-political pressure group made of professionals and retired civil servants of Delta State origin, has debunked claims by the State Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Deacon Ken Pela, that he was not sacked by the State Government on grounds of corruption.

The body, which also has as its members retired Permanent Secretaries and three retired Heads of Service, revealed how was sacked by the Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in 2009 “following shocking findings by two separate panels of inquiries that the said Ken Pela fraudulently transferred the sum of N100m from the account of Delta Building Society (DBS) to his private account and used the funds to build a private house in Lagos.”

Prior to his indictment and subsequent sack, Pela was the Chairman of the Board of the State Government-owned Delta Building Society (DBS). The Delta Professionals Forum said on Tuesday that all the actors who headed the two probe panelsand found Pela guilty of corruption and fraudulent enrichment to the tune of N100m namely the then Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Hon George Orogun (headed first panel) and the former Delta State Deputy Governor, a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof Amos Utuama, who headed the review panel that endorsed all the recommendations of the first panel and consequently asked Pela to refund the N100m to the coffers of the Delta State government are all alive.

“Also, the then Delta State Commissioner for Information, who was mandated by government to announce to Deltans government’s position on Delta Building Society is also alive! There is a retired Head of Service, Mr Evuarherhe who was also Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance and Permanent Secretary Ministry of Economic Planning, a Knight of the Catholic Church, who is still alive also! All these people are all Urhobo like Pela and they are Pela’s kinsmen and brothers and they can attest to this revelations and facts! Pela refunded money to DTSG and also landed property in equivalent of the diverted sum of N100m. He was then sacked in 2009 and since then, he left for Lagos only to surface in 2023 as a Labour Party Guber Candidate in Delta State. He thought Deltans have forgotten? These are the type of people out to stain Peter Obi and Labour Party. Political parties should be doing proper due diligence and background-checks on aspirants before giving them tasks. Like Doyin Okupe who voluntarily stepped down after he was indicted, Ken Pela should accordingly step aside as he is ineligible to either run for public office or hold public office until cleared by either the Supreme Court or granted a presidential pardon,” the group said in a statement signed by the trio of Chief Nnemeka Osuji, Dr Steve Umukoro and Elder John Bikawei, Chairman, Secretary and Publicity Secretary respectively.

DPF further vowed to proceed to court to halt Pela’s participation in the March 18 election just as it said it has also raised a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the subject matter.

It would be recalled that while answering questions from Arise Television crew on Monday, Pela claimed that he was never indicted by a probe panel. Speaking on Arise News TV ‘This Morning Programme’, the Labour Party Candidate had waved off the indictment when asked about it.

DPN had last week blown open and drawn the attention of Deltans to the probe panel set up by the State Government in 2009 which indicted Pela as Chairman, Delta Building Society.

In a press release by Mr. Osuji, Dr Umukoro and Elder Bikawei, the group said the government probe panel of inquiry headed by the then Delta State Commissioner of Finance, Hon George Orogun, and later re-examined by the then Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof Amos Utuama (SAN), which endorsed all the Orogun led panel submissions and consequently saw Pela being sacked after refunding N100m to the coffers of Delta State Government. “The refund was in quantified landed property valued by the state at N100m. All these are documented as the matter came to the State Executive Council at some point. All those involved are still alive and can be reached for confirmation,” DPN said.

It noted that all the evidence of the case are with them as they are prepared to go to court and petition the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies as Pela is not eligible to contest election in Nigeria.

According to DPN, whose members are drawn from the three senatorial zones of the state, the Labour Party Candidate was not only indicted but was dismissed and consequently sacked as Chairman of the DBS and as such he is ineligible to hold any public office except otherwise cleared by the Supreme Court (the highest court in the land) or pardoned by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any presidential body so authorized by the President of Nigeria and gazzeted accordingly.

DPN recalled that “the late Chief Joseph Orhorho was dropped as a ministerial nominee by President Shehu Shagari during the second republic after uncovering shocking findings that late Chief Joseph Orhorho was indicted by the then Midwest Government probe panel for corruptly diverting public money to personal use and was accordingly replaced by Chief Sowho.

“Indeed, the Senate in the Second Republic had stepped down the nomination of Late Chief Joseph Orhorho and in his place, Chief Sowho stepped in.”

DPN therefore urged all Deltans “to shun this indicted politician hiding under the cover of the popularity of Mr Peter Obi and vote for competence, sound educational background, evidence of good governance at all levels of public service, track record of excellence performance in projects execution and delivery across countless communities in Delta State and an exposed sound professional that will take Delta State to the next level in the coming election on Saturday.”

In a similar vein, concerned people from the immediate constituency of Deacon Pela have questioned his integrity as he was part of the collapse of the defunct Ughievwen Community Bank where thousands of depositors’ money could not be retrieved.