The people of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area are now grappling with the alleged financial recklessness of the Caretaker Committee Chairman (CTC), Hon. Adonye Diri whom our sources revealed had drained the council funds to pay his way through in his bid to win the hearts of top Peoples Democratic Party PDP stalwarts in the state to support his ambition to become the next elected executive chairman of Opobo/Nkoro, should the election comes up.
Diri was alleged to have paid handsomely, several millions of naira to top PDP stalwarts in the state at the expense of the council staff who due in penury. He was said to have abandoned standing orders of His Excellency during his swearing in and focused on lining the pockets of some influential PDP bigwigs because of his personal ambition.
The source also said that the crashed former lawmaker, representing Opobo/Nkoro in the Rivers State House of Assembly sponsored a lavish birthday party in honour of a PDP bigwig who was outside Nigeria, all in an attempt to win his support for his ambition. He allegedly bought choice wine and spirits and sumptuous meals that befit the wealthy class, while the council is moribund financially, the source claimed.
As if his reckless spending is not enough, he was also alleged to have kept huge amount of cash to service these to politicians monthly from the meagre allocations that the council gets.
Sadly enough, he openly told his kitchen cabinet members that he has since jettisoned the idea of going back to the hallowed chambers because of the “sugar and honey” he has tasted as a CTC chairman, adding that picking the ticket of the executive council chairman is more juicy than being a lawmaker, the source posited.
The nature of his financial recklessness had cost doubt on true quality of leadership which is supposed to be the guiding principle of the PDP NEW VISION.
Meanwhile, concerned PDP stalwarts in the area have condemned in totality the desperate way Diri is going about his ambition at the expense of council funds. They even questioned the rational behind the sudden change of plans, when originally he ought to be pursuing his tribunal matter in Abuja against Hon. Andrew Miller of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They called on his Excellency, Chief (Barr) Nyesom Ezenwo Wike to check the excesses of Hon. Adonye Diri, saying that all other PDP lawmakers have been winning their cases at the tribunal, wondering why Diri would want to lose the constituency to the APC because of his chairmanship ambition.
When The Newswriter Newspaper contacted Hon. Adonye, he denied the allegations leveled against him. The CTC chairman said that he has never paid kobo to any party elder, adding that no elder in the Opobo/Nkoro appointed him as the CTC chairman of the area.
Hon. Adonye described the allegation as the handiwork of his political distractors, pointing out that despite the dwindling federal allocations; he has done his best as the CTC chairman of ONLGA.
The ONOLGA CTC boss boasted that he was not a poor before entering into politics, stating that it is not true that he organized a party for a PDP chieftain outside the shore of Nigeria. According to him, “As a man I have never celebrated my birthday party, so how can I organize a birthday party for someone else? My brother it is not true, and the Governor knows the chairmen that are working. ###
