…Allegations false, unfounded –Obaseki’s aide
By Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY – THE Edo State Assets Verification Committee headed by Ernest Umakhihe on Wednesday submitted its report to Governor Monday Okpebholo where it said there were noticeable anomalies in the way and manner contracts were awarded in the last administration of Godwin Obaseki and urged that all the contracts and MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) be reviewed.
Receiving the committee’s report at the Government House in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo commended the team for their dedication and assured them that their recommendations would be acted upon.
“I appreciate the committee for a job well done and the time invested in this exercise. I understand the challenges you faced, yet you successfully carried out this crucial assignment. Rest assured that your findings and recommendations will be implemented appropriately,” the Governor stated.
Umakhihe on his part emphasized that the findings were not just a reflection of past actions but a call to action for the future.
He said the report provided a comprehensive breakdown of Edo State’s assets and liabilities, including outstanding debts, contractual obligations, and financial commitments and highlighted concerns over mismanagement, improper allocation of resources, and according to him the misuse of consultants in government operations, which created opportunities for corruption and abuse.
A peep into the over 3,900-page report indicated that the Obaseki administration left behind a debt of Six Hundred and Eighty-Two Billion, Five Hundred and Sixty-Five Million, One Hundred and Sixty-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fourteen Naira, Fifty-Five Kobo only (N682, 565, 164,814. 55), this the report said is 900% higher than what he inherited from the previous government headed by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole put at N84bn in 2016.
The Committee also alleged that the state government’s financial commitment to on ongoing construction of a Fiver Star Hotel amounting to N19 billion was not put into reckoning in the ownership of the hotel saying that Edo State has only 20 per cent share of the facility while a company alleged established in 2024 owns 80 per cent of the company and that curiously, as at the time the agreement was reached that the company should become the new owner, it had not contributed a dime to the project.
But when contactedby the Special Adviser to Obaseki as governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie denied the allegations saying the committee was deliberately misinforming the public and misinterpreting what transpired in the Obaseki administration.
“For the benefit of the people of Edo State and the public, every activity of the government was in the report of the transition committee which was handed to the new government. Everything raised in their so-called verification committee is nothing but falsehood and in the coming days, we will publish everything item by item for the people of the state to see. The Okpebholo government has everything that the Obaseki government did and what the committee is claiming is all false” he said.
On Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the committee noted that the past government awarded a total of 22 contracts totalling N22bn on ICT-related activities to 18 different companies and over N17bn had been paid as of November 2024.
The report frowned at non-state actors controlling the back end of the E-Gov platform while the state spent billions on consultancy services.
The report also queried several other projects of the last administration including the modular refinery, Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) claimed to be a private sector-driven project but the state government has spent over N5b in cash and assets, the renovation of Stella Obasanjo Hospital of almost a billion naira but that the project was not completed yet commissioned by the former governor observing that procurement processes were not followed in the projects.
On Education, the Committee’s report said it was alarmed that under the EdoBEST programme out of $75m meant for basic education reforms and renovation of schools from the World Bank, “only $5m came directly to SUBEB, the commission charged with the responsibility of implementation, while the remaining 93% of $70m was directly managed by the Governor under an arrangement referred to as Performance for result. The SUBEB staff complained that out of the $5m allocated to them only $2.5m was accessed before the project came to a close.”
The committee recommended among others, forensic analysis and investigation on ownership of Companies, enterprises, properties in Abuja, Lagos and other locations where Edo state had prior interest before Godwin Obaseki’s tenure, prosecution of indicated ex-officials, the blacklisting of indicted companies and full prosecution of contractors that ran afoul of the laws of the state, for the full investigation of the Edo BEST program particularly the utilization of the $75m from the World Bank.
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