Ovririe accused Akpobome Ogude, aka Ogusbaba, a Senior Special Assistant on Talents Development to the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, of fraud and sexual harassment.
One of the winners in the 2021 edition of the Delta State talent development contest in the music category, Uyoyou Ovririe, with the stage name, 'YOYO OVI', has made allegations against an aide to the governor.
Ovririe accused Akpobome Ogude, aka Ogusbaba, a Senior Special Assistant on Talents Development to the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, of fraud and sexual harassment.
Speaking with SaharaReporters, Ovririe, who has yet to receive her N5 million contract money and other consolation prizes for the competition, alleged that she has been scammed.
She added that instead of the state government to fulfil its part of the deal, Ogusbaba has resulted in issuing threats, bullying, intimidating her.
She also accused him of sexual harassment among others.
She said: "I won the competition on July 20th 2021, alongside nine other winners, but up until now February, which is seven months after, we haven't got or signed our N5 million contract which is the prize. This is my personal experience at the Talent Development Hub office. All through the event, I made sure I was obedient and I work in the office with total dedication to all tasks.
“I was punctual and available for all meetings and projects. Ogusbaba is distorting facts and lying around because he wants to enrich himself at the expense of innocent struggling talents.
"The SSA, Ogusbaba said he hasn't given us our N5 million contract because the governor hasn't given him the N50 million prize money for the ten of us, the winners to execute the contract. Ogusbaba clearly stated during the competition that the N5 million contract is for a song recording, a music video and full radio, online and TV promotions.
“He went ahead to say that is just a step in the direction of achieving success in the music industry and he will like to do more and have a stronger working relationship with us.
“I initially trusted (him) because we clearly have a choice on that until we started getting bullied into silence, threatened, manipulated and used for state projects so he can get monies approved which still weren't used to promote us as he claimed.
"The last seven months have been spent brainwashing and bullying us, putting us through emotional and mental abuse, constantly telling us in meetings that we are nothing. I have a video he sent to us as proof, threatening to drop us as Talent Ambassadors as such, we would not get the N5 million contract, which he has finally done in my case.
“I personally was sexually harassed constantly. I refused his offer to book me a hotel room to spend time with him. I have the chats that prove that point. He publicly tried to grab my waist a few times. He has said it out loud several times that I am difficult to sleep with, in the presence of a few people I can mention when necessary.
“He recently told me that he was just watching me and would know when I was ready to learn, this was in response to me when I asked him what I needed to do to improve myself and my work in the office.
"This is an open threat as I am a talent in an industry as lucrative as the music industry. I am only interested in doing business and decided to do excellent work only without using my body for favours. He also said he would take us to all the big men in Delta State to sponsor our videos and song releases as the governor has not yet paid the N50 million.
“I am a Lagos-based singer and songwriter, I had to temporarily move to Delta State and live under the most uncomfortable conditions just to be available for the projects we were being used for at the office. I took this opportunity to get the promotion and boost a N5 million contract will provide for my career. I have gotten zero on that. It has been a series of smoke screens. At the unveiling on December 1, 2021, in front of the governor, we were told to encourage him to pay the N50 million so we can be promoted.
"I asked for my N5 million contract through the head of innovation at the Talent Development Hub office, Mr. Kingsley King and he responded by asking me if my phone was hacked. We have been subjected to the point where it is believed we can't be in our right senses to ask for a prize we won in a competition that took a total of nine months of travelling from city to city, stress, money and time, which we fully invested. The current single that was used for my unveiling in December 1, 2021, was my previously released song even before I came into the competition, it was taken down and re-uploaded by my manager with my money that wasn't refunded by the office and Mr Ogusbaba said he spent hundreds of thousands of naira to upload it.
The up-and-coming musician who backed up her sexual harassment allegation with text messages as evidence added, "In December, Ogusbaba credited us (the yen winners) each with the sum of N250, 000, that the governor approved it for our wardrobe allowance, claiming it was his personal money as he was trying to make the governor look good to the general public and I have a telephone voice evidence to prove that as well. That is the only payment we have gotten from the N50 million contract.
“Through all these, I have found the Talent Development Hub the most unprofessional and a non-conducive environment for a creative person like me to work in and grow in her career. Just recently, precisely, on February, 16, 222, because I asked for my rights, he released a statement to the general public that I have been dropped as one of the Talent Ambassadors, disparaging and maligning my image before the public, just because I asked for my entitlements.
"We have it on good authority that the N50 million has been released to Ogusbaba. Just recently the winners were invited to the office, shown the contract and were told not to sign it. I have the testimony of one of the winners. This happened on February 8, 2022, seven months after we won the competition. The competition was an excellent idea and His Excellency, the governor fully put his heart into supporting it, but he is terribly being misrepresented by Ogusbaba, SSA to the governor on Talent Development.
“What was meant to be a great project to position the creatives has now been reduced to exploitation, total manipulation, bullying, sexual harassment and zero promotion of the talents. Please I want my N5 million contract money paid to me by Mr Ogusbaba, I am already being punished for demanding a prize I earned and won with my talent, sweat, tears and hard work.”
Contacted for his reactions, Ogusbaba, Senior Special Assistant on Talents Development to the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, debunked all the allegations.
He described them as "falsehood and fabricated and unfounded story to discredit and tarnish my hard-earned image”.
“I am a comedian, and when did telling a lady 'you look beautiful' become sexual harassment? Let her bring forward her evidence and if there's such, she should go to the police, not run to the press.
“She has been dropped from the competition, she is no longer our winner and our Talent Ambassador, as such she will never be entitled to any benefit again. The money in question is not in cash but a musical deal and others worth that amount."
The governor's aide who promised to send a detailed press statement to our correspondent in 30 minutes failed to do so after several hours, up till the time of filing this report.