Fraud Uncovered In DBS Warri As Junior Staffers Demand Investigation

SAN FRANCISCO, January 17, (THEWILL) – Following its inability to consistently broadcast to Deltans without disruptions, information reaching THEWILL has revealed that some senior staff in the Engineering Department of Delta Broadcasting Services (DBS) Warri in connivance with a notorious engineering contractor in Benin City have been the brain behind the ripping off of the organization and state government with the systematic sabotage of the station’s Television and Frequency Modulation (FM) Transmitters which has cost the state millions.
 
Recall that the government under Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has spent millions of naira towards refurbishing the station, a gesture that has yielded little or no result as the station has remained off air most times.
 
During the tenure of the immediate past governor of the state, James Ibori, the station acquired a new customized transmitter which has suffered series of sabotage allegedly by some top management of the Engineering Department, as means to defrauding government.
 
THEWILL was informed that a 40KW Harris TV transmitter B recently failed and a diagnosis revealed a faulty Master and I.F Oscillator. It was also gathered that, the establishment negotiated with a contractor in Benin City, Edo state, who supplied some units for two million naira (N2, 000, 000.00) on November 07, 2011. The transaction was handled by Mr. Samuel Oboyo.
 
“During the course of installing the units which were originally customized for the station, it was discovered that the units were properties of the station and on a thorough inspection of the items, it was revealed that the said units were actually the properties of the service (DBS) and shows the date of manufacture of the Master Oscillator which coincidentally corresponded with the date of manufacture of the station’s transmitter. This suffices to say that the Master Oscillator is factory built and designed for DBS Warri alone and cannot be bought off the shelve,” our sources explained.
 
It was also learnt that the engineers in the station often remove key components in the transmitters whenever the management of the station receive their operational allocation from the state government and thereafter connive with contractors to sell the units back to the station.
 
THEWILL gathered that this scam amongst many others have been ongoing for a while as revealed by some junior staffers of the station, who blew the whistle on the top shots in the engineering department.
 
“We are querying how a customized unit from our transmitter got to a contractor in Benin who eventually supplied same to us a spare part.
 
“We are urgently calling for the setting up of a panel by the Ministry of Information to investigate the matter, so as to expose the thieves in our midst,” a whistle blower told THEWILL.
 
Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chike Ogeah could not be reached for comments before press time.