The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Elder Godsday Orubebe

  • Scores injured as youths scramble for Atiku’s money in Delta

    There was pandemonium Tuesday at the Unity Hall in Delta State Government House, Asaba over money allegedly released for People’s Democratic Party (PDP) delegates during the consultative visit by the ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

    Trouble started shortly after Atiku exited from the meeting venue when irate youths pounced on the party officials whose duty it was to allocate money to various delegates from the 25 local government areas of the State.

    The scramble for the money resulted in injuries as security men shot sporadically inside the hall.

    Delegates in their desperation snatched huge bundles of money and made away with others in hot pursuit around the Delta State Government House grounds.

    Security personnel attached to many party leaders shot into the air to scare away the youths as the situation threatened to degenerate.

    An unidentified youth who was chased around the grounds and beaten up by youths as he tried to escape with wads of naira notes.

    He was stripped naked and beaten to stupor.

    Read Also:http://staging.thenationonlineng.net/pdp-knocks-presidency-over-statement-on-plateau-killings/

    Torn five hundred naira notes littered the grounds as desperate youths attempted to escape with the loot.

    Several hours after the ex-vice-President departed from the venue, many youths loitered around the grounds hoping for more largesse.

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar Tuesday harped on the need for restructuring of the federation to make progress.

    A government house press release made available to The Nation stated that the former Vice President was in the state to consult the people on his aspiration for the Presidential ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Atiku disclosed that he has been in the fore-front for the restructuring of the country since 2004, stressing it will bring out the best among Nigerians.

    Alhaji Abubakar had said that his aspiration to be Nigeria’s President was borne out of his passion to ensure that the country make progress, disclosing, “the security architecture of the country must be reviewed and decentralized.”

    He decried situation where security agencies does not take orders from the state governors, asserting, “As an individual, I don’t think this is true federalism, we must restructure the security architecture.”

    The former Vice President also listed ways to tackle unemployment in the country observing, “to create jobs, you must liberalize the economy, support the private sector, create incentives to make the private sector boom and open up the economy to foreign direct investment.”

    “I will have a very small federal government with powers and resources devolved to the states to manage the affairs while they pay tax to the federal government; with this, each zone can survive on its own without leaning on oil money,” he emphasized.

    Okowa commended Atiku Abubakar for engaging in consultation visit, assuring that delegates to the Presidential Primaries of the PDP will make their decisions based on acceptability, reach, experience and level of intelligence of the individual aspirants.

    He urged the aspirant not to relent in moving to different states of the country, stating that more efforts should be made for the PDP to be in control of more states of the country to enable it clinch the Presidential position in 2019.

    Others who spoke at the event include, former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, his Imo State counterpart, Chief Achike Udenwa, former Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, among others.

  • Remembering Orubebe

    Classical. First of its kind. Wow. Or how best can one capture a situation where a serving minister tried to truncate the announcement of the result of the last presidential election? It is really difficult to forget. So, I was not surprised that President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday remembered Elder Godsday Orubebe, a former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, at the 2018 Democracy Day lecture.

    Buhari said the ex-minister should have been invited to listen to Attahiru Jega, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who was the lecturer. Orubebe had harassed Jega that day, saying: “Jega you have been compromised, we are no longer confident in you.”

    “Here, I must digress to raise an observation about the programme organisers because I did not see Mr. Orubebe who ought to have come and listen to Prof. Jega deliver his lecture. This is a major observation.

    “That instance, for those of us who were lucky that there was light and we had the television to see the confrontation between Orubebe and Prof. Jega, it will remain a life impression to many of us.”

    Orubebe’s action led to a new lexicon being added to our local dictionary. I remember a friend sent me  a BlackBerry message, which read: “New word now in the English dictionary: ‘Orubebe’ (noun): The process of trying to disrupt a smooth running process, especially through a fraudulent and dishonest means”; (verb): “to make an attempt to disrupt a gathering/smooth running process…” : E.g. Noun: The birthday party resulted in an Orubebe before the police intervened. Verb: Every time Liverpool FC is winning Manchester United, they always want to Orubebe the match.”

    Orubebe, who is founder of the Glory Sanctuary Christian Centre (GSCC), Ogbogbagbene, Burutu Local Government, Delta State, really danced naked in the market square without being ashamed.

    Because defeat was staring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the face, he enjoyed his naked show being beamed live on national television stations. He thought it was good for the cameras to record him; so he moved forward before making his point. He spurned the advice that he could be heard from where he sat. He wanted his face to be seen and ended up being the worse for it.

    He cut a pitiable sight as he sat on the red rug close to where Jega and other senior officials of the electoral umpire were. His request: the process must be stopped. He had started his theatrics first standing and when he seemed to be making not much sense to Jega, he sat on the red rug and for close to 30 minutes, he held everyone hostage and no plea could make him leave the stage. He screamed, shouted and giggled like a man desperate to have his way. His eye balls bulged as though they would jump out of the socket as he shouted: “No, we will not take this.”

    His eyes also spoke volume about the pains he was going through at the suffocating fate of his darling party under whose platform his dream of governing Delta State crashed like a pack of cards. He kept jumping up and down and raising his hands to drive home his point. All he wanted was for Jega to return to his office and empanel a body to investigate his party’s petition.

    He said Jega was biased against the PDP and deliberately not investigating the complaints about events in some All Progressives Congress (APC) stronghold. Orubebe, an Ijaw man from Ogbobagbene, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, who was born on 6 June 1959, could not stand the coming fate.

    The elder later apologised in an interview with reporters, saying he regretted his naked dance in the market square. He said his emotion got the better part of him. He begged Nigerians and the youths who look up to him to forgive him, adding that as an elder in the church he went beyond bounds. President Goodluck Jonathan’s commendable act of conceding defeat even before official declaration of Buhari as the president-elect must have made him feel like a fool. The man he thought he was fighting for knew it was time to leave the stage.

    That incident was not Orubebe’s first ‘public show of shame’. His quarrel with boxer Bash Ali while he was Minister of Niger Delta was messy. The contents of text messages between the duo became public knowledge and the sort of language Orubebe deployed put a question mark on his person.

    The crux of the matter between Orubebe and Ali was whether or not the Ministry of Niger Delta promised to sponsor Ali’s championship bout. Orubebe said he never committed his ministry to sponsoring the proposed Guinness Book of Records bout of the ex-World Boxing champion.  Orubebe, in a telephone interview with this newspaper at the time, said his ministry had nothing to do with sports. He added that all he did was to recommend Ali to the National Sports Commission (NSC). Ali, however, insisted he had a commitment from the ministry, through the minister, to sponsor the bout.

    Ali’s claim, said the minister, showed that he needed psychiatric help. Orubebe said:  “That man came to me with his proposal and I said these are things that can be done by the National Sports Commission (NSC). I gave him a recommendation note to see the Minister of Sports at that time.

    “Later he came to me that some people told him that the programme will be included in the budget of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

    “I said if other people are lying, I will not lie. The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has nothing to do with sports, the programme could not have been part of our budget. So, it is not in our budget.

    “This agitation of Ali is dated back to the tenure of ex-President Umaru  Yar’Adua. At a point, he was so impressed with my assistance that he wrote a letter to Yar’Adua telling him that I am the only minister who speaks the truth. I still have a copy of the letter with me.

    “Sometime this year, he sent me a text that is it because he insisted on a transparent deal that the budget for the programme was not released? I asked: What has my ministry got to do with Sports?”

    “Bash Ali is a big fool. He is good enough for the psychiatric hospital in Uselu. I think it is a mental case and I want to advise his family to take him there. I am not bothered about what he is saying about me.”

    However, documents obtained by this newspaper at the time showed that Ali had a deal with Orubebe’s ministry to sponsor the bout. The ministry also championed the setting up of a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to stage the fight. Orubebe’s ministry, in a letter, asked the NSC to nominate one of its senior officials to serve on the LOC.

    In the August 27, 2009 letter, the Ministry of Niger Delta, wrote the Chairman of the National Sports Commission on its readiness to support Ali’s fight. The letter, signed by Dalhatu Sule on Orubebe’s behalf, reads: “I am directed to inform you that the ministry is in the process of supporting an International Boxing Tournament between Bash Ali of Nigeria and John Keelon of Britain.

    “We are therefore seeking for your nominee to serve as member of the committee that will work out the modalities on how to arrange and finance the tournament.

    “Your nominee should be an officer of not below the rank of Assistant Director.”

    In another letter, also signed by Sule on Orubebe’s behalf on September 8, 2009, Ali was assured that “a committee has already been set up to work out the modalities for the great fight.”

    But, after some months, Orubebe changed his mind. So, in a December 15, 2009 letter Sule, on Orubebe’s behalf, wrote the fighter that the ministry had no money to sponsor the bout, which it had earlier set up a committee to organise.

    The letter reads: “I write to refer to your letter of 24th November, 2009, on the above subject matter and to inform you that we are just a fledgling ministry that barely took off this year and as such, extreme budgetary constraints has been a problem to grapple with. In this regard, the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry would not be in a position to sponsor the historic boxing defence bout between Ali of Nigeria and Keeton of Britain. Please accept the warm assurance of the Honourable Minister’s highest regards.”

    It is not in doubt that Orubebe actually gave Ali the hope that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs would support the fight. Why he had a change of mind is hazy. Ali claimed it was because of his refusal to part with some of the $14.2m allegedly budgeted for the fight under skill acquisition in the ministry’s budget, an allegation the ex-minister denied. The ex-minister said the fight was never budgeted for by the ministry.

    My final take: For Orubebe, the ghost of his naked dance will roam the earth for years to come. Already, his Wikipedia entry has recorded it. This happened minutes after the dance. I am sure some books have also recorded this, making it something that will be talked about years after those of us still around would have gone to the great beyond. The lesson in this is that we must always think before we leap. Orubebe did not that day.

    • Parts of this piece first appeared on this space on April 3, 2015
  • I didn’t divert road project funds – Orubebe

    I didn’t divert road project funds – Orubebe

    A former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, on Thursday distanced himself from the alleged diversion of funds earmarked for the East- West Road dualisation project.

    The ex-minister spoke in Abuja while reacting to reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has brought charges against him in relation to the project.

    The ICPC, in a five-count charge filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), accused Orubebe, Oludare Lawrence Alaba, Ephraim Towelde Zaki and Gitto Construction Limited of  allegedly diverting  close to N2 billion naira meant for the dualisation of Section IV of the East- West Road.

    Orubebe, who said he was yet to be served with the charge, said payment for the project was made by his predecessor, Ufot Ekaete, who incidentally is from Eket, where the project was to be executed.

    The ex-minister said he was interrogated on the issue last year by the ICPC and that when he clarified the issues to the agency, its officials told him he has no case to answer.

    “Chief Ekaete was the Minister for Niger-Delta Affairs when the East-West Road dualisation project started.

    “The road was initially meant to pass through the community somewhere around Eket, but Ekaete expressed his preference for the by-pass to pass behind the community to aid development and expansion of the community.

    “The N1.9billion, which they said Orubebe diverted, was paid under Ekaete as the Minister of Niger-Delta. I did not make any payment. Ekaete paid the money to the construction company. I did not know when they paid the money.

    “While some people agreed with the suggestion by Ekaete that the road should pass behind the community, others disagreed. I met the problem when I became the Minister of Niger-Delta.

    “I wrote the then governor, Godswill Akpabio and we held meetings with the members of the community who disagreed on whether or not the by-pass should pass behind the Eket community or inside it.

    “I only read the story about the charge in the newspapers. They have not served me. I am still waiting to be served.”

  • CCT trial: Orubebe alleges witch-hunt , denies taking bribe

    CCT trial: Orubebe alleges witch-hunt , denies taking bribe

    With a strong message for President Mohamadu Buhari to halt alleged witch-hunting by some government agencies, former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Peter Orubebe has dismissed allegations of false declaration of assets and acceptance of a N70 million bribe.
    The former Minister is to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on November 9 on a four-count charge of receiving N70 million bribe from a contractor and failure to declare his ownership of two plots of land in Abuja.
    Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Sunday afternoon, Orubebe who said that he personally collected the tribunal’s summons last Friday asserted that he had been wrongly blamed for the disappearance of N600 million that vanished during his successor’s tenure while some government departments have been inviting him for questioning unnecessarily.
    “This simply tells me it is an issue of witch-hunt and it is not good for the development of this country,” he stated while urging President Mohammadu Buhari to stop government agencies’ undue harassment of perceived foes.
    “If these things are coming out because of the role that I played at the International Conference Centre as an agent of the PDP, then it is unfortunate.
    “The role I played that day, I played it diligently to the best of my ability as an agent representing my party and since that day, we have allowed sleeping dogs to lie quietly.
    “God has given victory to Buhari, what we expected of him is to use his good office to carry everybody along, to move Nigeria forward.
    “It would be sad to use that office that is meant to serve Nigerians, to try to intimidate people with government departments; before now, I had been called to appear before government institutions over things that I know nothing about,” he said.
    Addressing the specific allegations for not declaring his ownership of two plots of land, Orubebe who noted that he was only one of a few who ever served Nigeria as Ministers for more than six years stated that government gave him two plots of land which he disposed to take care of his needs as Minister, adding that he cannot declare continued ownership of a gift that he had disposed of.
    “Normally, government gives land to ministers, governors and others; the government that I served gave me these plots of land – one in the outskirts of Asokoro and one in Kyami near Abuja.
    “ I make bold to tell you that I never saw the land at any point in time; these were not land that I bought with my money, they were given to me by the government and all ministers were given land as had always been the practice.
    “They allege that I left government temporarily and didn’t declare the land but the salary of a minister cannot meet up with the needs of a minister in Abuja. So, when you have opportunities like having such land, you do something with it to meet up your needs.
    “If you give me a piece of land that ended up not being my own, I do not see any reason why I should still come and declare that I still have such land.
    “ I committed no offence there; I did not buy the land, it was government that gave me the land and I used them the way I needed to use them, they were no longer mine,” he stated.
    Responding to questions on the N70 million bribe allegation, the former minister said that there is unnecessary confusion over the sum and his alleged role.
    According to Orubebe, he asked President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Bureau of Public Enterprises to revoke about seven shoddily-handled contracts for the construction of Skill Acquisition Centers, only for a Pastor who owned one of such contracts to pay N20 million into the accounts of Glory Christian Sanctuary, an evangelism center built by the ex-minister in his village.
    “ I am the founder of Glory Christian Centre for evangelism in my village and while going through their records, I saw that there was N20 million deposit in the account of the centre; I asked them who brought the money and they said it was my private secretary, Akpokome, a civil servant.
    “I asked and he told me that it was the pastor that gave him the money; I was so furious and I told him that the same way he collected the money, he should return the money to the man; I told the officers managing the centre to return the money to the account from which the money was sent (into ours) and they returned it.
    “I then asked the Permanent Secretary to constitute a committee to investigate the matter – all these happened in 2012- and involved the EFCC.
    “It was in the course of the investigation that we realized that the man gave them N50 million and it was out of that N50 million that they sent N20 million to the sanctuary account and shared out the remaining.
    “The investigative committee made recommendations and disciplinary actions were taken against him (Akpokome) and all the papers, including account details, were forwarded to the EFCC.
    “I never saw any money, he never discussed with me; he (pastor) paid through them and I blew the whistle; a disciplinary committee was set up, disciplinary actions were taken.
    “I could not have taken money from someone whose contract I had cancelled, raised an alarm and then do what he alleged. There is a formal letter, including findings from the ministry of Niger Delta to EFCC dated 26th June, 2013,” he said.
    Alleging that there is a clear systematic effort to smear his name, Orubebe said that he has never been corrupt, adding that he even deserves some special recognition for his contribution to Nigeria’s economic well-being.
    “I found these charges very empty and frivolous; I served this country as a minister for over six years which is a feat on record, that so many people have not gotten from 1960 till date.
    “This was the minister, when Nigeria was going down economically in 2009, risked his life to go to the creeks, to sleep in the camps, eat with militant leaders and brought them together. I worked with so many other people and we had the Amnesty Programme that has economically sustained this country to date.
    “To get this of treatment from the Nigerian system is unfair; it is not good enough, it is not good for the future of Nigeria
    “I want to say categorically that I, Elder Godsday Orubebe was, is and will never be corrupt; as a minister, I never took any bribe from anybody throughout more than six years when I was a minister of the federal government of Nigeria.
    “I dare any Nigerian to tell the people of this country if they ever gave me bribe,” he stated.

  • Who is Orubebe?

    Who is Orubebe?

    Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe is a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from Ijaw decent in Delta State.

    Born on June 6, 1959, Orubebe was appointed Nigerian Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in 2010 when President Goodluck Jonathan (then Acting President) announced his new cabinet.

    He is a graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), obtaining a B.Sc in Political Science in 1985, but later obtained a Masters Degree in International Relations from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, in 2005.

    Orubebe became a Supervisory Councilor, and later Chairman of Burutu Local Government Area. In July 2007 under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, he was appointed a Minister of Special Duties.

    He later became Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs when that ministry was created in December 2008 to oversee the amnesty programme for militants from that region.

    In January 2010, he said the proposed 10 per cent equity share policy on infrastructural development in the Niger Delta region would make vandalism and crisis a thing of the past.

    Controversially, on March 31, 2015, the elder, acting as a polling agent for the PDP, almost distrupted the collation of president election results when he threw caution to the wind and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, of bias.

    He later apologized to Nigerians over his conduct, urging them not to follow in his footsteps.

    “I totally regretted my action,” he told bewildered Nigerians.

    The aftermath of the controversy made thousands of Nigerians raised eyebrow on Tuesday when a post appeared on his twitter handle, allegedly declaring his plans to join the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    However, his media aide has denied that there is no truth in the post claiming that the PDP chieftain remains loyal to the party.

  • Orubebe still in PDP – Aide

    The Media aide to Elder Godsday Orubebe, Ayo Fadaka, has denied that the former minister has dumped the People Democratic Party (PDP).

    Fadaka claimed that the post that went viral on Orubebe’s twitter handle claiming that the former minister of the Niger – Delta had plans to join the Al Progressive Congress (APC) was false.

    Find the tweet below:

  • Orubebe still in PDP – Media aide

    The Media aide to Elder Godsday Orubebe, Ayo Fadaka, has denied that the former minister on Tuesday dumped the People Democratic Party (PDP).

    Fadaka claimed that the information that went viral on the social media through Orubebe’s twitter handle was false.

  • Orubebe picks PDP governorship form for Delta

    Orubebe picks PDP governorship form for Delta

    THE list of aspirants for the Delta State Government House increased yesterday as the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, picked the expression of interest form.

    Orubebe is gunning for the office of the governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He assured the people that if elected as the next governor of the oil rich state, he would work to build a state of equal opportunities for all Deltans.

    Shortly after picking the form, the former minister headed straight to the Living Faith Church, Jahi, Abuja, “for one hour with the Lord,” where he praised and thanked God.

    He said the essence was to commit the new journey to God, who has given him backing.

    Quoting from the Book of Psalms, 22 verse 27, Orubebe said: “I cannot go to another place than here and thank my father for another journey.”

    He told his supporters, who accompanied him to the church service, that his coming into politics was not by accident as God told him back in 1987 that his place was in politics.

    The former minister, who was then working in a private firm as export manager, said he resigned to follow the divine direction and since 1990, he had never failed in all his endeavours in politics.

    Speaking earlier after collecting the form, Orubebe told journalists that he was going to Government House to add value to what the previous administrations had put in place.

     

     

    “In the past seven years and half or there about, we have a governor that has done very well and  I am coming to take over from him to add value to what he has also done in the state.”

    He also assured the people that when voted in, he would re-engineer and orientate the state, “to bring to bear the Delta State of my dream, where anybody can become a leader and can become many things so long as you rely fully on God.”