The accusations made against His Majesty, Ogiame, Atuwatse ll, the Warri king, have been denounced by the Children of Drivers and Fishermen Association (CODAFA).
The association’s national president, Mr. Romeo Diden, and secretary, Mr. Blessing Okotie, signed a press release describing the allegations made by the anonymous group regarding the pipeline surveillance contract that the federal government awarded to Ogiame Atuwatse as “baseless, malicious, and defaming,” with the intention of defaming the esteemed throne.
The statement claims that Pipelines Infrastructures Nigeria Limited (PINL), owned by the Olu of Warri, does not have a workforce that is commensurate with the contract; as a result, the monarch pocketed billions of naira. This false accusation is being fed to the faceless group, the Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum (NDS).
The group alleged that “PINL is handling the largest pipelines surveillance contract in the region, without a workforce.”
“The Olu of Warri handles over 80 percent of the surveillance contracts, while Tantita, owned by Tompolo handles less than 20 percent, and has a workforce of over 25,500 operatives and numerous subcontractors,” it added.
Diden declared the allegations to be dead on arrival and also termed the accusations made against the monarch a “wicked act” by some people to sow discord and division.
He urged the people making the unfounded accusations to stop, adding that the prestigious monarch has given a great deal of influence to many citizens of the realm, including non-natives, regardless of their tribe.