Edo APC tackles Obaseki’s ally over pecuniary gains from state govt
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo state chapter, has tackled the special adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on media projects, Pastor Crusoe Osagie, on pecuniary gains from Edo government.
Osagie alleged that a lot of efforts and tactics were being deployed by people with selfish political interests to silence the voice of reason, truth and upend objectivity.
He said: “In Edo, a lot of effort has been made by a small segment of political actors to rewrite the history of the last seven and a half years, and their reason for doing this is simple: pecuniary.
“Unfortunately for this small segment of politicians in our society, who used to depend absolutely on state gratification for their opulent living, Governor Obaseki’s approach to governance occasioned the redistribution of resources from people with political access to the generality of Edo citizens.
“Funds that could have been deployed for orgies, opulent overseas trips, flamboyant medical tourism, and other frivolities have now been redirected for the construction of institutions.
“Funds that would have been ferried away in sacks, popularly called ‘Ghana Must Go,’ after pointless meetings in Government House, have now been channeled towards the reconstruction and equipping of the State Secretariat Complex on Sapele Road, construction of the John Odigie Oyegun Public Service Academy (JOOPSA), in Benin City, construction of the Adams Oshiomhole Labour House, in Ikpboa Hill; establishing the e-governance system that allows the government to run a paperless public service, prompt payment of salaries and pensions to workers and retirees, and payment of N70,000 as minimum wage, which is the highest in the country, among others.
“By these good deeds, Obaseki has murdered sleep. A segment of the politically powerful are upset. They have vowed to destroy the reputation and legacy of the man, who dared to interrupt the flow of state funds to satisfy their voracious appetite.”
The media aide to Obaseki also claimed that Edo residents were overwhelmed by a deluge of lies, and they could hardly find space to accommodate the primacy of truth.
Edo APC, through its assistant publicity secretary, Victor Osehobo, however, declared that Osagie’s statement was a wasted and unnecessary effort, while stressing that it was easy to see through the acclaimed journalist struggling to be a clergyman’s failed attempt to squeeze water from a stone.
It said: “Edo people know for a fact that the only people who fit into Osagie’s defined selfish political interests to silence the voice of reason, truth and upend objectivity can be found inside Osadebey Avenue (Government House), Benin City. They are the governor’s praise singers and sycophants, who get occasional crumbs from his table.
“They are the small segment of political actors, who chose to join Edo governor in his failed attempt to rewrite the history of Edo people in the last seven and a half years, for pecuniary gains. It was they who advised Obaseki to betray his predecessor in office, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and other benefactors. They praised him when he demolished private residences with official Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os). They clapped for him when he demolished legacy public institutions like the Central Hospital and the State Library in Benin City. They sang choruses for him when he wanted to misappropriate the Benin artefacts.
“These people are the beneficiaries of his spurious Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs); partnerships and alliances, including that of Gelegele Seaport, which gulped millions of Edo tax payers money in feasibility studies, but never saw the light of the day. They are the only ones who clap for him over promises of the never-to-see-reality Benin Industrial Park, the Airport in Fugar, Uzairue and Okpella, the Benin City Railway line, and the University of Innovation, among other unfulfilled electoral promises.
“They jubilated when Obaseki shut all tertiary academic institutions in Edo State, and sacked their staff, with arrears of salaries unpaid. Need we mention the oil derivation funds, the bail-out funds or the refunds for federal roads reconstructed by the state government, which disappeared without a trace or explanation?”
The main opposition APC in Edo also stated that the state governor’s approach to governance consisted of flagrant misuse and misappropriation of public funds, abuse of due process and the lack of transparency in the award of all contracts, with the absence of public advertisements of contracts or open bids.
Edo APC noted that Crusoe was conspicuously silent on the ownership status of key assets like the Edo refinery, MOWAA, Shoprite, and the Ossiomo power plant, the Sobe farm and other farms allegedly funded by a N2 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the substantial amount of Edo state’s funds that were locked up in Sterling Bank Plc, until recently chaired by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo for the September 21 election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo.
