From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has revealed that his decision to probe the government of his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, and former national chairman of All Progressives Congress, (APC) was due to the unprecedented fraud allegedly committed by the administration.
Obaseki, reiterated his government stands to institute a probe panel on the activities of his predecessor while in office especially the N30 billion Benin Water Storm Project at a reception organized for the recent election of Dan Orbih as the National Vice- Chairman, PDP South-South zone by Tony Anenih jnr, the Edo state organizing secretary of the party.
The governor who was responding to a request by the South-South , national vice chairman of the party not to leave any stone unturned in carrying out the probe alleged that the frauds committed were contained in a hand over documents to him by the former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole.
He said that while as the then chairman of the State Economic Team was busying and organizing the Adams Oshiomole- led government by raising funds from the capital market and the World Bank to develop the state some persons were filtering away the money.
” I don’t want to look back but to always look forward and you have raised some issues which we can’t ignore.
“Yes I was part of that administration, I believe Edo must develop, so I sacrificed my time for eight years to help organised the state, I went to the Capital Market and to the world Bank to raise money for the state to develop.
“But with what I have seen in the books I look like a fool. While I was arranging finances and things, I don’t know that money I was raising for the state were being filtered away.
“I don’t like probing, I like to go forward but it has become very difficult because when I look at the contracts that I have awarded in 2020, and the cost of awarding the contracts, when I compared them to the ones awarded 10 years earlier, people have questions to answer.
“We are not a government that like to prosecute people or victimize any body but the truth must be told. Edo people must know how we awarded 200 million dollar contract 10 years ago and we have paid every amount of that contract, it has not finished.
“We are cleaning the house so that when you come in there will be no issues and we will not be deceived any more and I can’t tell you today what we have seen but by the time I send messages to you this months to start work, you will appreciate what you see when you join me”,he said.
Obaseki, who said qualified and competent engineers and other professionals will be invited to carry out assessment of the projects said that the Benin Water Storm Project designed to deflood the city has created more erosion problems rather than addressing it.
“Edo people must be told how a project that supposed to remove flood from Benin City created more flood. I am not an engineer but will call them to tell us what happened. They must explain to Edo people how we have been able to award contracts about a tenth of the cost and achieved more with that money than they did 10 years ago”,he said.
On the 2023 presidential election, the governor, however, mandated the National Vice-Chairman, South-South zone, Dan Orbih to ensure that the zone produce the next president.
He said that the South-South zone is the only zone in the country that all its governors are PDP.
He added that it is the only zone that was yet to complete its two term as president of the country.
“Orbih has lot of work to do, as chairman of the zone, we expect you will deliver the presidency to the zone and God has given our zone all it takes to have it because all the governors belong to one party.
“This is the region that has not completed it presidency. We have one term and they must give us in 2023 and he is the man that will make it happens.
“Presidency must come back to South South and you must go round the country to let them know that we can’t be cheated.