The immediate past Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki has said the administrative panel of inquiry report that allegedly indicted him and others is another of Okpebholo’s frantic efforts to justify his unconstitutional onslaught on the elected leadership of the third tier of government in the state.
DAILY POST reports that Governor Monday Okpebholo had on December 18, 2024, set up an Administrative Panel of Enquiry to investigate the financial accounts of the impeached 18 Local Government Chairmen in Edo State between September 4, 2023 and November 2024.
The chairman of the panel, Solomon Imohiosen, who submitted the report to Governor Okpebholo at the weekend indicted the immediate past Governor, Godwin Obaseki, some local government chairmen and leaders of Peoples Democratic Party in the state of either allegedly mismanaging or diverting to private accounts the sum of N95,080,676,687.86 being the amount received from the Joint Allocation Account Committee, JAAC, by the 18 Local Government Area Chairmen for the period under review.
Following the report, Governor Okpebholo vowed to take the indicted personalities to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for prosecution.
Reacting to the alleged indictment, the former Governor of the State Godwin Obaseki, who described the statement as shocking noted that Okpebholo appeared to be completely oblivious that he does not have supervisory responsibility over the Local governments.
Obaseki who spoke through his media aide, Crusoe Osagie opined that his successor can also not set up any investigation of government officials that are elected into office just like him.
He posited that the local government chairmen have a better claim to their democratic office than Governor Okpebholo whose election stands on a knife edge, with the election petition tribunal preparing to deliver justice in the September 21, 2024 election, widely believed to have been rigged.
The statement dated February 17, 2025, was titled, “Re: N96bn LG fraud: Edo panel report indicts Obaseki, PDP leaders, impeached LG chairmen”.
The statement reads in part: We have read with disdain a statement by Monday Okpebholo alleging that the elected 18 local government chairmen in Edo State mismanaged N96 billion, in another of Okpebholo’s frantic efforts to justify his unconstitutional onslaught on the elected leadership of the third tier of government.
“What is most shocking about the statement is that Okpebholo appears to be completely oblivious of the fact that he does not have supervisory responsibility over the local governments and can therefore not set up any investigation of government officials that are elected into office just like him.
“As a matter of fact, these local government chairmen have a better claim to their democratic office than he, whose election stands on a knife edge, with the election petition tribunal preparing to deliver justice in the September 21, 2024 election, widely believed to have been rigged.
“Also advertising Okpebholo’s ignorance is his attempt, as usual, to drag His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki into his propaganda. Okpebholo should kindly note that Obaseki was never obsessed with control of local government funds during his tenure, as Okpebholo has shown himself to be in the last three months.
“We are forced to, by this statement, inform Okpebholo that there are limits to his powers as governor, and if he believes there are financial infractions in a separate tier of government from his own, he should simply inform the relevant agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, to carry out their constitutional responsibilities.
He, however, added that Governor Okpebholo needs to be reminded that he is neither the Inspector General of Police nor the Chairman of the EFCC.
Obaskei, who urged all Edo people and Nigerians to ignore the alleged lies and falsehood propagated by his successor in his statement, noted that as the main target of Okpebholo’s alleged witchhunt, he ran
the most transparent government in the history of Edo State.
He, however, added that during his tenure as governor of the state for eight years, he never at any time had authority over local government funds.
Those also indicted by the panel report are the embattled chairman of Orhionmwon Local Government, Newman Ugiagbe who is also the State chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON.
Others are Ahonsi Ogiegbaen Osifo, Eric Agbonmwanre, Abraham Burma and Dickson Imasogie Notiemwenmwan.
The panel alleged that the ALGON chairman used his hotel, the Demarriots Hotels Limited to collide with others to loot Local Government funds.
