By Watchmann

 

The embattled chairman of Ughelli North Local Government Area in Delta State, Jaro Egbo, may have further implicated himself after admitting to under-declaring a personal property valued at ₦1.8 billion as ₦850 million in his asset declaration.

Asset declaration is a legal obligation for public officials, and under-declaring assets is a serious offense that can amount to tax evasion under the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act and the Finance Act. Violations can attract severe penalties, including fines, imprisonment, or both.

Egbo made the confession during an interview on Quest FM while responding to a series of corruption allegations levelled against him by the former chairman of the Ughelli North Motor Park Revenue Committee, Gowon Egoide, and the Abovwe Descendants Union (ADU). These allegations include misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, kickbacks, and intimidation.

Addressing the accusations from his family, Egbo revealed during the interview that he had under-declared the value of his personal residence, stating it as ₦850 million instead of its actual worth of ₦1.8 billion, during his asset declaration.

Egbo, while speaking, boasted of having executed contracts worth ₦1.8 billion with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

He said, “I am not sure whether some of you have come to my house before. That place was a forest, the Uduere was a forest. That community was a forest. I bought those lands in 2015. And the money I used in buying it was the 10 acres I sold to my church, the Anglican Church.

 

“The first plots that I bought was at N700,000 to tell you how the place was, then I started building the place. All of them who say they are suspending me; they don’t stay in the community. Well, let’s be very honest with you, I spent some time in NDDC before I came in here.

“I have three companies that did several works, only the ‘Heroes of Faith’ job was for N700 million. I have worked in Abia, so at the time I came, I had left NDDC. I already had jobs that had been done for N1.8 billion waiting for payment. So, I am just trying to be modest with you. All these are evidence of what we have.

“By next week, I told the guy who was blackmailing me that, look, before you blackmail me now, they are going to pay me N190 million but because of the insult, I am going to buy a Land Cruiser Jeep for myself by the company.”

“My house where I am staying, when they valued it, it is a 10.5 acres property, it was valued for N1.8 billion and I said, no, if you say N1.8 billion I will have issue and I under-declared it for N850 million, that is where I am staying now,” Egbo stated.

Last week, Egbo, through a statement signed by the Secretary to the Local Government, Goodluck Unuavworho, announced the dissolution of the Motor Parks Revenue Committee. The decision, according to the statement, was due to the committee’s failure to maintain accurate and transparent financial records.

However, the move sparked further controversy. In response, Egoide accused Egbo of demanding monthly kickbacks of ₦400,000, allegedly paid into a personal Globus Bank account under the name Jaro Omovudu Egbo.

Egoide also alleged that Egbo’s wife, Mrs. Vivian Egbo, received a ₦1.2 million bribe through her business account, Viviaro Enterprises, domiciled at First Bank.

Rejecting the official explanation for the dissolution of the committee, Egoide described the action as one motivated by “political vendetta and corruption.” He claimed Egbo’s real motive was to retaliate against his refusal to support the chairman’s attempt to impose a candidate as youth chairman of the Abovwe Descendants Union—a family organization to which both men belong.

In a related development, the Abovwe Descendants Union has suspended Egbo, a member of the group, barring him from attending family meetings and participating in communal activities. The suspension followed allegations of gross misconduct, dishonesty, assault on elders, and the fraudulent conversion of family property.

In a communiqué dated May 12, 2025, issued after a family meeting and signed by representatives of the four family groups—Pa. David Oduorere (Owhefe), Pa. Emmanuel Arhern Erhueh (Ogun), Mr. Joseph Egoide (Odebor), and Pa. Emagboro (Erineyenre)—the family strongly condemned Egbo’s actions.

They accused him of physically assaulting family elders on April 29, 2025, calling the act a disgrace and a blatant insult to the institution of elderhood.

The communiqué also highlighted multiple instances of financial misconduct by Egbo, including the mismanagement of family lands and funds. Furthermore, the council chairman was accused of exceeding his authority by threatening the family leader and attempting to hijack leadership roles within the union.

The communique read, “Besides his abnormal disrespect to the family elders in council, he has been called upon to pay back to the family amounts he has defrauded the family. He legitimately purchased 6 acres for his residence but is presently occupying 11 acres without recourse to the family. He collected N8 million from the family to pursue extension of electricity poles to Abovwe quarters which till date he has not done for over three years. Another N8 million of family funds realised from sales of family land at Akpuvanagha.”

Meanwhile, there was widespread panic on Sunday in Uduere, a suburb of the Abovwe community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, following an invasion by armed thugs and security operatives allegedly acting on the orders of the embattled council chairman, Jaro Egbo.

SaharaReporters gathered that the armed group, comprising suspected thugs and security personnel, stormed the community to disrupt a family meeting convened by the Abovwe Descendants Union (ADU). During the raid, the assailants reportedly assaulted elders and women, destroyed chairs and canopies, and intimidated residents while firing shots into the air.

The attack is believed to be linked to the ongoing feud involving Egbo, his extended family, and the recently dismissed chairman of the Ughelli North Motor Park Revenue Committee, Egoide