Breaking: EFCC Arrests Former Delta Governor Okowa for Alleged Fraud 

Ifeanyi Okowa, a former governor of Delta State, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly diverting N1.3 trillion (13% derivation fund) from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Okowa was arrested on Monday, November 4, 2024, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after reporting to the EFCC’s Port Harcourt Directorate at the request of the detectives working on his case.

Along with a further N40 billion that he purportedly used to purchase shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas, the former governor was accused of failing to account for the money.

Okowa specifically allegedly purchased N40 billion worth of shares in one of the nation’s largest banks, which accounted for 8% of the equity needed to float the offshore LNG. Okowa was accused of using the money for other things.

Investigators are also looking into how the former governor misappropriated money to buy properties in Delta State’s Asaba and Abuja.

He is being held in the EFCC detention facility in Port Harcourt.

When the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ran for president in 2023, Atiku Abubakar, Okowa was his running partner.