• Ex-gov’s aide accuses state govt of plotting to divert funds
The Chairman of the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, yesterday, urged Governor Monday Okpebholo to stop complaining and focus on delivering results for the people. He said the former governor of Edo, Godwin Obaseki, has done his part in developing the state.
Aziegbemi also raised concerns over the Gestapo-style tactics employed by the Okpebholo government vehicle recovery agents, led by Kelly Okungbowa, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. He alleged that the vehicle recovery committee members broke into Obaseki’s private residence, and assaulted and harassed security personnel at the premises.
Aziegbemi said: “This is most reprehensible and unacceptable, and we urge relevant security agencies to thoroughly investigate these attacks and ensure that perpetrators are brought to book.”
He however called on all Edo people, civil society organisations, and well-meaning Nigerians to beam their attention on this administration to prevent a descent into avoidable anarchy, with dire consequences for the peace and security of the state.
Speaking to newsmen in Benin, Aziegbemi said: “The PDP government has done its best and successfully worked on over 340 schools from the many others across the three senatorial districts.” He expressed dismay with the lamentations by Okpebholo, saying: “The ball is now in his court to do his part, just as the PDP government did.”
The PDP commented on the composition of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) by the Okpebholo government, pointing out that it violates the provisions of the SUBEB Act.
MEANWHILE, Crusoe Osagie, the Media Adviser to the Edo State ex-governor, Obaseki, has accused the Okpebholo government of trying to evade the contractors of Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin City.
Osagie said that the Obaseki government left about N30 billion in the state coffers, enough to pay the contractors, but it disparaged the work done by the previous administration on the hospital and diverted the funds to settle godfathers and others who played the main role in getting him into office.
In a statement, Osagie said: “The childish, laughable, and infantile comments by Okpebholo where he fruitlessly attempted to disparage the excellent work done by the immediate past governor at the Stella Obasanjo Hospital on Sapele Road, Benin City, are part of a clandestine plan to dodge the payment of contractors who executed the project.”
“We also gathered that top officials of the Okpebholo-led government are currently playing hardball with the contractors, trying to arm-twist them and demanding as much as 30 per cent of the total amount owed to the contractors as kickbacks before payments can be made.”
“At the end of the Obaseki administration, the former governor left about N30 billion in the government’s coffers. These funds are more than sufficient to pay off these contractors and meet all other immediate state obligations, but the Okpebholo-led government is dodging the payment of the contractors because they are diverting these funds to settle godfathers and the lions and tigers that played the main role in getting him into office.”
