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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Edo chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of neglecting governance because of his inordinate and unattainable ambition to control Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structures and become a new godfather.
APC chairman, David Imuse, who raised the alarm while addressing newsmen in Benin, said the state has been left to drift with the implication that the people are traumatised through bad governance.
He said it was clear to Edo people that in spite “of our human and material resources Obaski’s administration has not been able to meet the legitimate expectations of our people.”
Imuse expressed worry over incessant borrowings by the Obaseki’s administration, pointing out that the government would plunge the state into debts that generations yet unborn would not be able to pay. “We also want to warn Obaseki against taking another loan, at a time the state is heavily indebted. Without a state legislature, Obaseki has since he assumed office for a second term increased the domestic debt of the state by an additional N50 billion, from N81,750,262,718.83 in 2021. This is exclusive of state’s foreign debt of over $280 million from available records.
“In December 2020, he sponsored a N25 billion Fixed Rate Senior Guaranteed Series 1 Bond Issuance by River Jamieson SPV Limited and guaranteed by an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) on Edo State’s revenue issued by the Ministry of Finance. In last November, he again took another N18.7 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Now, Obaseki wants to take a new N7 billion loan to finance its scam of a light up Edo project, which in Benin has seen the repainting of a few streetlight poles. Without a clear cut action plan, the Obaseki PDP administration has made itself a good customer to many of the country’s financial institutions, as it now gets all forms of loans, in the name of the Edo State government.”
