Chief Edward Onoja, former Deputy Governor of Kogi State, has finally spoken up after Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo claimed that “an Igala son” pocketed billions budgeted for the Kogi East electrification scheme and left the area in the dark.
It started on Facebook. User Enefola V. Levi tagged Onoja and asked him to respond to the Governor’s charge that the money never reached the poles and wires it was meant for.
Governor Ododo, speaking at a recent event, said huge sums had been released yet the contractor—an indigene he refused to name—took the cash and vanished. “We released the money, but the project is nowhere,” the Governor told the audience.
Onoja pushed back, calmly but firmly. “I don’t believe His Excellency was talking about any public servant from our time in office,” he said. “Civil-service rules bar a serving officer, or any company linked to that officer, from collecting government contracts.”
He added: “I served eight years in that administration. Handing billions to a sitting official would be reckless—and I find that hard to accept.”
Instead of shielding anyone, Onoja told Ododo to use the powers of his office. “If a brother stole the money, charge him. No relationship puts anyone above the law. The Governor has the files; he should investigate and prosecute.”
Onoja also warned against trial by social media. “The Governor hasn’t named a contractor or company yet. Until he does, speculation isn’t fact. One thing I know: the Igala people aren’t known for that kind of behaviour.”
Stakeholders across Kogi East have now joined the call for a full list of the firms that collected the cash. With homes and businesses still running on generators, they want to know where the “billions of naira” really went.
