What we know about the recently convicted politicians

Sarah Reng Ochekpe who served as the Minister of Water Resources under former President Goodluck Jonathan; Raymond Dabo, a former chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Leo Jatau, who was coordinator of the President Goodluck Johnathan campaign in Plateau were Tuesday sentenced to three months imprisonment for fraud in a case brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC).

What we know about Sarah Ochekpe

Born on October 4, 1961, to the family of Ali Reng Madugben, Sarah Reng Ochekpe grew up in Foron, a district of Barikin Ladi Local government area of Plateau State, Nigeria.

Although little is known about her early education, she had her first degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University, then a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Jos. She also has post-graduate qualifications from Aberdeen College of Commerce and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism.

Career

Sarah Ochekpe occupied several directorial roles in the National Orientation Agency of Nigeria, the body tasked with communicating government policy, staying abreast of public opinion, and promoting patriotism, national unity, and development of Nigerian society. This she did before venturing into politics serving under former President Jonathan as the Minister of Water Resources from 12 July 2011 – 29 May 2015.

She used to be a member of the Afri Foundation seeking to tackle poverty in Africa.

Controversies

Ochekpe ran into a political storm when she coordinated the controversial campaign dinner for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan where about N21 billion was raised beyond the N1 billion campaign limit in the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

Before she could be consumed by the campaign fund crisis, Jerry Gana, former minister of information, came to her aid by claiming that the funds were meant for the completion of the PDP National Secretariat.

In one of her speeches made in 2014, Ochekpe said Nigeria would like to be recording 100 percent coverage for water supply and sanitation by 2019.

According to a report from UNICEF and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Water Resources in 2020, 70percent of Nigerians have access to basic drinking water, with the average amount of water each person receives in Nigeria being nine litres per day. This is lower than the minimum acceptable range of 12 to 16 litres.

What we know about Raymond Dabo

Raymond Dabo is a politician from Plateau State. He served as the state’s PDP chairman during former President Jonathan’s tenure.

As acting chairman of the Plateau PDP, Dabo stated in 2014 that the party had no plans to accept defected members at the time. He underlined the importance of returning adhering to established protocols in order to earn membership.

Raymond Dabo was criticized by PDP stakeholders in 2016 for selling the party to Governor Simon Lalong, undermining PDP support in the state. They accused him of meeting with the governor behind closed doors, as well as sponsoring and identifying himself with a different political group, in order to sow discord inside the party structure. On the other hand, Dabo disputes the accusation, claiming that he will not defend himself for something he did not do.