Delta Unable To Raise Funds For Transition As Accountant General Absconds

The May 29, 2015 handover of government in Delta State may flop as the state government is unable to raise funds for the event.

This followed the absconding of the state’s Accountant General, Cyril Agbele.

Agbele, according to reports, had absconded from office since last week.

He has also reportedly switched off his phone.

Sources said the absence of the Accountant General may disrupt the programmes for the handing over of power from Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to the Governor-elect, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

However, contrary to insinuations that Uduaghan had put pressure on Agbele for the release of funds, sources in the Government House said the disappearance of the Accountant General was due to the influence of the hawks in the camp of Okowa.

It was gathered that so far, funds requested for release by Uduaghan by Agbele were for security agencies, the state’s inauguration committee and the transition committee of the governor-elect.

The hawks in the Okowa camp are said to be bent on creating problems for Okowa and are thus using every available means to hinder a successful transition.

A Government House source said: “As at today, the state cannot fund the inauguration of Okowa.

“And we see this as a political move by some hawks in the team of Okowa to create problem for him.”

The major grouse of the hawks with Okowa, it was learnt, has been the fact that he has had a good working relationship with Uduaghan despite the initial perception that he was going to be hostile to the outgoing governor.

A source in Okowa’s camp said: “The initial perception of a hostile relationship with Uduaghan appears to have failed as the two of them have been getting on well and are headed towards sustaining the camaraderie.

“This has been a source of worry to a lot of them who have been looking for every opportunity to create chaos and then make money through that means.

“The disappearance of the AG is the height of it all.”