By Benson Ekoja
The 8th Benue State House of Assembly is inarguably the first assembly judged with the best capability of checkmating the usual executive excesses being that it has a fair, significant number of opposition members needed to cause the desired effects.
However this promising Assembly has become notorious for negative stories emanating from its affairs and dealings even as these do not without the mention of a principal officer, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. James Okefe who is gradually becoming the Assembly’s Achille’s heel.
James Okefe is the Deputy Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to represent Okpokwu State Constituency has since the inception of the assembly been the centre of all and every controversy emanating from the assembly.
First was his election as Deputy Speaker where after collecting a whooping 10 million Naira from Senator David Mark who had hosted all PDP members in Otukpo in an effort to lobby them to vote for the preferred PDP candidate for speakership, Hon. Dominic Ucha who had picked Okefe as Deputy. However the tables turned when he was accosted by the APC to sell out, an appeal he willingly gave into for 30 million Naira. This scandal rocked the assembly and the media for the earlier part of the assembly’s life with the newly elected Deputy Speaker labelled a traitor by his former contemporaries in the PDP.
Not long into the life of the administration had the election crisis settled that another scandal sprang. Okefe known for his penchant for sharp money, was embroiled in an arm twisting scandal, where he was accused of intimidating the former Okpokwu Local Government Chairman, Hon. Christopher Idu into submitting local government funds. This degenerated into a full blown war when the Chairman refused to give in to the overtures, a situation which took over even the national media with one Ati Terkula, a political blogger being summoned by the Assembly for bringing into limelight this intimidation and underhand attempt. Okefe thus embarked on a mission of intimidation to ensure Idu was removed, with the aid and backing of principal members of the assembly like, Hon. Nick Eworo, Hon. Benjamin Adanyi and the Speaker Terkimbi Ikyange, Okefe won the battle.
Save for political observers who had in past times known Okefe for his penchant for controversies, many thought this was the last of the controversies to come from the Deputy Speaker until came the allegation that Hon. James Okefe had hoodwinked the Governor, Samuel Ortom to award a contract worth 700 Million Naira to his personal Assistant, one Agada Ochoche whom he had introduced to the Governor as Alhaji Abdulkarim, an uneducated car dealer, to supply cars to the state assembly members. This deal has continued to rock the 8th Assembly as it has brought up newer dimensions to Okefe’s notoriety.
Only early this week the Assembly has awakened to another scandal which has taken obviously grave dimension predicted to either strenghthen (if the virus- Okefe, is flushed out of the system) or mar the system, (if he is defended and shielded as usual).
This seemingly new scandal is a ghost from history, the follow up of the car supply scandal where in his usual style of looking for a fall guy, has accused the Deputy Governor’s son Doctor Abounu Abounu who was incidentally instrumental to his shift from the PDP to the APC and even his choice as Deputy Speaker( what a betrayer).
The new dimension is the involvement of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to look into the matter of the supply contract of cars. According to reports, Okefe and his co travellers, the Speaker, Hon. Terkimbi Ikyange is slated to appear on Monday, 13/06/2016, while Hon. Okefe will appear on Tuesday 14/06/2016, with EFCC officials booking a date with Hon. Barr. Benjmin Adanyi on Wednesday 16/06/2016, and Hon. Nick Ewuro scheduled to appear before EFCC officials, Thursday 24/06/2016.
This is unconnected to the awarded a contract in the tune of over N700 million to one dubious car supply outfit owed by Hon. James Okefe for the supply of Cars to all the house of Assembly members at the rate of N13.9 Million per car, but when the money was credited into his account, the house then took a resolution that any member who is not interested in the Car should be given the equivalent amount to buy a car of his or her choice, but soon after the resolution was taken, Okefe, who was awarded the contract in connivance with the Speaker, Hon. Eworo and Barr. Adanyi denied other members of the house of their right to get what rightly belongs to them, by giving the sum of N10 million to all other members save for the quartet which hatched and executed the plan and allocated N13.9 million to themselves including the balance remaining from the loot.
This is even that some members, especially of the opposition PDP, including Hon. Terser Adzuu, Hon. Terkaa Ucha, Hon. Kester Kyenge, Hon. Tor Aye who protested the decision of the speaker Ikyange, Hon. Adanyi to give them N10 million instead of N13.9 million have not gotten neither Car nor money as at time of writing. This matter came to a head, when Hon.Adzuu and others protested the injustice meted against them house leadership in seeking redress, reported the matter to Gov. Ortom. However in reaction, Speaker Ikyange and Hon. Adanyi wrote a query to them even as they were locked out of the last executive session.
It is however unclear to what extent the Benue State governor who recently dedicated the state to God intends to take his desire to rid the state of corruption. As with the continuous permisability of Okefe’s gaffes might certainly create a question of seriousness to the whole drive.
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