The transition committee chairman of Ughelli South local government area of Delta State, Anthony Oviri Uto, yesterday engaged the council’s secretary, Henry Tafri, in a physical brawl over the secretary’s refusal to endorse fraudulent documents with which to embezzle 73 million naira in public funds.
The sum in question was the council’s portion of the N1.6 billion “SURE-P” revenue that accrued to Delta State from the federation account.
The fight, which took place at the Coral Govina Hotel, Ughelli, lasted several hours. SaharaReporters spoke to several sources who witnessed the fisticuffs. They included the hotel management, guests and passers-by.
One eyewitness said that the fighting degenerated to a level where supporters of the two council officials faced off with dangerous weapons.
“I saw the council chairman descend on the secretary’s hotel room with over 20 thugs,” said the source.
Another source, close to the secretary, confirmed that Mr. Uto wanted to compel the secretary to sign fraudulent executive minutes to cover up alleged financial malpractices committed by the chairman in the disbursement of N73 million. Two sources said the chairman’s thugs overpowered the resistant secretary and beat him mercilessly. His two mobile phones and other personal belongings, including an unspecified amount of money, were reportedly stolen as he struggled to flee the scene shortly before his supporters arrived.
It is learn't that some of the secretary’s sympathizers rescued him and rushed him to an undisclosed hospital where he was being treated.
An aide to the irate chairman disclosed that Mr. Uto had earlier invited the secretary to his house to sign some documents, but the secretary refused and took off. “Immediately my boss now ordered some ‘boys’ to go after the secretary and he [Mr. Uto] followed too. On getting to the secretary’s hotel room, the secretary was about checking out and when the chairman requested him to endorse the documents, he called the chairman a fool. Angered by this, the chairman gave him a slap and ordered the ‘boys’ to start beating the secretary and that was what happened.”
Calls and text messages to the secretary’s mobile phone were not answered as the line was switched off. When a correspondent phoned the council’s chairman, Mr. Uto, he denied fighting with the secretary at the hotel.
Two months ago, Mr. Uto was accused of looting over N20 million of council funds. The council chairman reportedly claimed that he had given N5 million to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for the governor’s elaborate 25th wedding anniversary in Warri and had used another N5 million for a monthly sanitation exercise that was never done. In addition, he spent N9 million on basic travelling allowances and execution of some unseen projects in the area.
It was learn't that Mr. Uto had hosted selected journalists based in his council area to a party in a bid to cover up the brawl and the N73 million scandal.
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