The Former Commissioner of Urban Development and Physical Planning Rivers State, Dr Reason Onya broke his silence on his involvement and controversies surrounding the collapsed seven 7-storey building in Port Harcourt.
Dr Onya in an exclusive interview refuted claims by Governor Nyesom Wike that he was sacked as Commissioner based on the report of the panel set up to investigate the collapse of the building which was said to have indicted him.
Onya described as unfortunate, the comments by Wike which he said was unexpected of a Governor, saying he resigned his position as commissioner and was never sacked as claimed by the governor.
He insisted that he was never indicted by any panel report because it was proven at the panel of inquiry that before his appointment into Urban Development and Physical Planning as Commissioner, the approval for the collapsed building was already seven-storey since 2014.
“The collapsed seven 7-storey building was not approved by me, it was approved in 2014. Then I have not been appointed as Commissioner of Urban. Governor Nyesom Wike is aware that the approval of that building was in 2014, the panellists of the inquiry were aware, everybody is aware, I don’t know why Nigeria will change in a twinkle of an eye.
“The report from Port Harcourt City Council showed that the building plan was approved in 2014, the report from the Ministry of Urban showed the building was approved in 2014. Can a building plan be approved that is this or that, it’s either it’s a 4-storey or 5-storey building.
“Before now I did not want to join issues with anybody on the matter, rather I decided to be calm all through. Many media houses had wanted to interview me on the issue which I declined, but for the several allegations being made against me, it became pertinent for me to clear the air.
“The man came for revalidation in 2018, the 2003 Act of Urban Development gives us the authority to revalidate, as far as the basic requisite (checklist) is completed. We have eleven types of checklists; such as the document of Certificate of Ownership or Deed of Conveyance, Certificate of incorporation of Company, Letter of Conformity, two sets of the building drawing sent and sealed by the relevant professionals with their CV’s, either an Architect, a structural engineer with valid practice license.
“I can tell you that the building collapse was never as a result of structural defects, it not true because all these checklists would be certified before I revalidate any building. I had two issues; the Architect or the Engineer in charge of the collapsed building came to my office and said that I should sign the building plan, I asked him if he had made payments, he told me they don’t pay that it is a relationship they have with the Ministry.
“I insisted he must pay every Kobo for revalidation to the Rivers State government or I won’t sign the revalidation, he said to me that they already told him I am a thorough person. All the building environment professionals must have an undertaking according to the checklist. Should anything happen in the process of the building, they will be held responsible whether an architect, structural engineer, builder, even the owner of the building.
“We had all these in place before the collapsed building was revalidated in 2018. The building environment professionals would have been biased because this was what transpired between me and them. It was built-up, a sabotage to rubbish me. I don’t blame the Governor at all on this basis, there were serious criticisms that felt Reason Onya was gaining too much influence and getting himself endeared to the Governor, at the end of the day I was told all these.
“Those criticisms were the ones that went and marketed this 4 or 5-storey building to the Governor, and Governor Wike made a pronouncement that the building collapsed based on 4 or 5- storey building. After making the pronouncement at the next Exco meeting, His Excellency asked me if the building was actually 4 or 5 storey, I told him, Boss, it is 7-storey building from the beginning. I showed him the building plans that it had always been 7-storey.
“I believe for whatever reason best known to them, they decided to hang on to the 4 or 5 storey building. Even during the panel, it was said the original plan of the building was 7-storey, so where did they get 4 or 5 storey building? that is the question. I am too decent to play deceit, I am challenging anyone who says the collapsed building is 4 or 5 storey to come and prove it.
“It is all cooked up lies against me, Governor Nyesom Wike knows I was one of his finest in the Governing Council. I arrested two hundred and eighty people for malpractices in the Rivers State Ministry of Urban, I dragged people to EFCC when they tried to cheat Urban, I was the only Commissioner that generated the highest revenue in Urban.
“On my own, I deliberately put in a resignation letter to Governor Nyesom on 28 November 2018. The moment I told him I was leaving during an Exco meeting, the Governor exclaimed “I am not sacking you o” three times, the Governor felt bad that I was leaving, then how would he turn round and say he sacked me? Even after I had left, on 28, I still had a vehicle and all entitlement enjoyed by the Commissioners. If I was sacked, would he have given me all that? He was nice to me, he was fantastic to me, he gave me all the support I needed to work in Urban.
“Outside politics, let me be honest, I have always seen the Governor as a very sincere person, but I was disappointed for him saying he sacked me”
Reacting to the allegation that he and his wife begged to be employed at the Rivers State University, the Chieftan of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State who just defected from the Peoples Democratic Party said he never begged anybody and that some individuals conspired to undo him politically.
He further emphasized that he didn’t call Governor Nyesom Wike to beg as claimed by the Governor.
“The Governor said I called him three times, pleading for him to forgive me; on what basis, If I may ask? It is not true because I did not call him, I sent a message to him complaining about the Commissioner of Information that said I was indicted by the Panel for the collapsed 7 storey building, knowing fully well that the building has always been 7 storeys since its approval in 2014 and not the imaginary 4 or 5 that is the basis of the recommendations of the panel report.
“On realizing that it was not the Commissioner of information that made the accusation, but Samuel Nwanosike, the Ikwerre Local government Chairman, for clarity sake, I sent an apology on that regard for the mixing up of the Information Commissioner with Ishi, the Ikwerre LGA Chairman. It was just to bring it to his notice through my penultimate Whatsapp message to him. It was on the same basis the Governor called me after then.
“The panel report was two; one exonerated me from the collapsed building suggesting I should be retained as Commissioner of Urban for the good work I was doing in the Ministry, while the other spoke Ill of me that I should be disallowed not to hold public office, these things were done for the reason best known to the criticisms, I kept my cool on learning all these evil against me”.
The Former Commissioner of Urban insisted that the Job in question at Rivers State University was on Governor Nyesom Wike recommendation to be employed.
“I have been pushed to the wall because of silence. The Governor told us in one of the Exco meetings that those of us who have PhD and want to work in RSU should apply as lecturers. I was the only one that applied because I have a passion for Education. Then my application was taking to Professor Didia Blessing, Former Vice-Chancellor of RSU and he minuted it to “Pro Chancellor treat”.
“I was with the Vice-Chancellor. After the interview, he recommended that I should be employed as a senior lecturer and that letter was available. I was called to come and pick up my employment letter but unfortunately, I was not around. When I went to pick up the letter, he sent for the registrar he was not around, the second time the registrar was not also around.
“Information filtered to me that the Chairman of the Council said I should not be given the letter, they should step the letter down, that is Honourable Justice Ichendu. So I approached him and told him I learnt he asked them to step down the letter, he denied in my presence that he never said such and asked me to go and collect the letter.
“I went back to collect the letter, they did not give me, I approached him for the second time, he openly told me that I am Didia’s man, because the Justice never liked Didia, I guess he didn’t like the fact I was very close to Didia, so for that, I should not be giving employment. They set up a panel to indict Didia wrongly, I refused it and that was the genesis of my problem with the Chairman of the Council, Honourable Justice Ichendu and he couldn’t hide it.
“Let me say this; if one hundred people were employed at RSU, eighty came from Obio Akpor and Port Harcourt City Council, ten per cent came from Emohua and Ikwerre and the rest ten per cent from other LGAs of the state. Let them go and check the result, they should publish the list.
“The letter of employment was never giving to me, I called Governor Nyesom Wike, which I believe he intervened because the Acting Pro-Chancellor called me later come for an interview. I went for the interview, finished up and the appointment letter was ready. The interview was headed by Professor Orumabo, the Dean College of medicine as at then, the Present Vice-Chancellor could not come for whatever reason. The Head of Political Science was there, Head of Economics, Dean faculty of Science and Professor Ezekiel Hart that represented the Vice-Chancellor was there at the interview.
“They asked me questions from all the suffice of political science. The Head of Economics asked me questions on related courses between political economy because I majored in political economy and Economics, Dean faculty of Social Science asked me questions on research methodology, Professor Ezekiel Hart asked me questions on my 14 publications, nobody was interviewed like that.
“When the interview was going on, the Chairman Justice Ichendu was constantly on phone with the registrar. He was speaking in Ikwerre dialect, the registrar had to move out of the panel when he noticed he was disrupting the interview. After the interview, they asked me to excuse them for a while.
“My return to the interview committee, the Chairman of the committee brought out the recommendation report from the Panel of inquiry set up to investigate into the collapsed 7-storey building and showed to me that I am not eligible. Since they were aware I was not eligible, why did they invite me for an interview three (3) times, and in this particular interview I scored seventy-four (74) per cent?
“When the Chairman of the Council, Honourable Justice Ichendu came back from suspension based on employment issue in RSU, the first thing he did was to step down the appointment letter that was prepared after the interview for the second time.
“I have all details that transpired in their transactions including some members of the Executive Council involved, which I complained to the Governor. In all these that transpired, I chose to remain quiet because it’s not in me to speak Ill of people I work with”
Onya said it was still Honourable Justice Ichendu that stepped down his Wife’s application into Rivers State Teaching Hospital.
“My wife is one of the brightest medical doctors we have today, she is a distinction product. My wife applied, Governor approved, Justice Ichendu the Chairman of the Council stepped it down to date for a reason I know nothing about.”
He emphasized that as a Professor of politics, his main aim of being in politics is for the betterment of his people, to change the narrative for those who believed in him.
