Zainab Abioye
The Auctioneers Association of Nigeria, Bayelsa State Chapter, has given Governor Douye Diri seven days to investigate the alleged illegal sale and disposal of government metal scrap by the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority, Timothy Diekivie Itiedu.
The association, through its lawyers, Gibson Esowa & Co., also demanded the recovery of the allegedly disposed government assets, refund of their monetary value and investigation and possible prosecution of the authority’s chairman.
The demand was contained in a petition dated October 1, 2026, addressed to Governor Diri through the Secretary to the State Government and signed by Joseph A. Richard, counsel to the association.
The petition, a copy of which was reportedly also sent to the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission office in Port Harcourt, accused Itiedu of allegedly bypassing established procedures for disposing of government assets.
The association claimed it was the registered professional body responsible for conducting auctioning activities for the disposal of unwanted government properties and assets in accordance with applicable public procurement laws and procedures.
According to the petition, government scrap disposal is expected to involve the identification and valuation of the assets, public advertisement of the proposed auction, approval from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government and a transparent bidding process conducted by professional auctioneers.
The association further claimed that it was entitled to a 10 per cent commission from government assets disposed of through the auction process.
However, the lawyers alleged that Itiedu had “hijacked” the responsibility of professional auctioneers and allegedly embarked on the sale of government scrap without following the required procedure.
The petition alleged that the development could be traced to a letter issued by Itiedu on October 7, 2025, directing the evacuation of metal scrap, including gas turbine parts and other abandoned waste metal, following what was described as a directive from the state government.
The association alleged that after the evacuation of the materials, Itiedu, working with a man identified as Daw Obote, said to be a staff member of the Ministry of Environment, allegedly began selling some of the materials privately to agents.
The lawyers claimed that the alleged sales were carried out without the knowledge or approval of the state government and without the involvement of professional auctioneers.
The association said photographs of some of the allegedly disposed government materials were attached to its petition to support its claims.
It further alleged that no committee had been constituted by the Office of the Secretary to the State Government to oversee the disposal of the assets and that the association was not invited to participate in the process.
The petition also raised concern over an alleged plan to evacuate additional government metal scrap located in Swali Town, Yenagoa.
The association claimed that the proposed evacuation could result in the materials being disposed of in the same manner it alleged had occurred previously.
It therefore asked Governor Diri to immediately halt any further disposal of the materials and ensure that all government scrap allegedly sold or removed without due process was recovered.
Alternatively, it demanded the payment of the equivalent monetary value of the allegedly disposed assets, in addition to the 10 per cent commission it claimed was due to its members.
The association also demanded a cease-and-desist order on the proposed disposal of the scrap materials in Swali Town.
Beyond recovery of the assets, the lawyers urged the governor to order an investigation into the allegations against Itiedu and, where wrongdoing was established, ensure that those responsible were prosecuted.
The petition warned that failure by the authorities to act within seven days of receiving the document would compel the association to seek legal redress.
The lawyers stated that they had their client’s instructions to institute appropriate legal proceedings “without further notice” if the demands were not addressed.
The development puts the disposal of government-owned scrap and other unwanted assets in Bayelsa under fresh scrutiny, particularly the transparency of the process through which public property is identified, evacuated, valued and sold.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that publicly available Bayelsa State government records confirm the existence of the Bayelsa State Environmental Sanitation Authority as a state agency.
However, the allegations contained in the petition have not been established in court.
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