Commissioner Without Certificate Fumbles In Major Court Case

Mr. Kennedy Okolugbo is in a lot of hot water in the Delta State Magistrate Court, in Asaba. The controversy surrounds his claim of possessing a degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University, while he sat on the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, known by the acronym of DESOPADEC.
Okolugobo is now a suspended member of the DESOPADEC board who represented Ukwuani/Ndokwa. He is now fighting for his professional reputation over an alleged certificate scam. So far, he has not been able to produce the document in court, and the matter of his previous academic achievements has also come under fire, and scrutiny.
In the background of this fight is another that has been brewing over some time. Allegations of fraud, back room dealings, bribes, a shifting of contracts issued to one party, and passed on to another, and a nasty fight, involving the local police, between members of the Delta State House of Assembly, and members of the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.  
The background ruckus is all over who gets the ‘meat,’ and the bulk, of the lucrative contracts at stake that will run into well over 37 Billion Naira in the commission’s next budget. The fight has been described as, ‘a Cold War,’ between members of the commission, and members of the state assembly.  
The suspension of Kennedy Okolugbo from is position on the board of the DESOPADEC, is just the latest twist in a complex case. His so-called ‘fumbling’ over the facts surrounding his credentials is just one part of the case. Yet that ‘fumbling’ has not gone unnoticed.
Reacting to his suspension and certificate issue, Mr. Kennedy Okolugbo told SaharaReporters, “Nobody suspended me, you can confirm from the speaker of the Assembly. My certificate was tendered in court on Friday when the case came up. There was a petition to the IG detailing the fact that I do not have a certificate. It was subject to an investigation, which I have a copy of the police report, and the police report recommended that the petitioner should be tried, and as I speak to you, the petitioner is being tried right now. The case was mentioned on Friday, in Asaba, I testified (there) and I tendered my certificate in court.”
Commenting on the Okolugbo issue, a principal officer of the Delta State House of Assembly, speaking to SaharaReporters on the condition of anonymity, said Okolugbo “has always disobeyed the house on issues relating to the commission.”
The principal officer added in his conversation to us that, “Do you know that vehicles that were donated by the commission to some federal, and state government agencies, this same Okolugbo went and inscribed his names as the donor, and that amounts to fraud.  When he was summoned by the DESOPADEC, and to the Finance and Appropriation committees of the House, members asked him why he had failed to ‘clean his name,’ (as) inscribed on the vehicles donated by DESOPADEC to Ukwuani, against the instructions given (to) him by the Committee members. He is a very fraudulent fellow, my brother.
“Now on the issue of his degree certificate,” the principle officer went on to say, (“that) Okolugbo claimed that the notification of final degree result issued to him by the University, had been stolen. (And) as a result, he only had a letter of attestation signed by a Principal Assistant Registrar to that effect, and issued on January 9, 2003. Several questions Okolugbo must answer in the issue are first, why has Ambrose University not issued the final (original) degree certificates to its graduates of the 1996/1977 academic sessions?
Also commenting, a former DESOPADEC commissioner stated that Okolugbo was not forthcoming with the truth, and paying boys to do ‘image laundry’ for him on the pages of local newspapers.  when he would just represented his certificate in contention and save him the whole trouble.
"In essence, Okolugbo, who claimed to have graduated from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma 17 years ago, had no certificate (at all) to back up his claim. Does Okolugbo not have an NYSC discharge certificate to prove he served the nation after his purported graduation?
"Again, if Okolugbo (had) graduated from the University in 1997, then he was 25 years (old) when he graduated. That is within the age limit for participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, so he had no justifiable reason why he did not serve. If, on the other hand, he actually served, where did he serve, and where is his NYSC certificate?
"If, on the contrary, he did not serve, and he obtained an exemption certificate, where is it also?" the former DESOPADEC commissioner said in an interview with SaharaReporters.
The complicated case presided over by Judge Steve Okebu, was adjourned until the 30th of June 2014. Between now and that time, it is unclear just what other new twists or unexpected developments may occur many in the Delta State are watching closely.