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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and immediate governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, denied plunging the state into indebtedness thereby leaving a huge financial burden for his successor.
He refuted the claim during the Edo South Senatorial campaigns flag-off of the APC in Benin City.
Oshiomhole said he needed to set the record straight by asking those who had divergent views to make it public.
“When I became the governor, the local revenue was N250 million a month, but after one month of my assumption of office, the monthly Internally Generated Revenue went up to N2.1 billion.
“Talking about money, I need to use this occasion to clear certain things.
“I have decided that what I owe Edo is to join forces to secure tomorrow and not to cry over yesterday because I can’t bring it back and facts must be explained.
“As governor of Edo State, the only local loan I took was bond, N25 billion, and we paid it over a period of seven years; that we conveniently repaid in December 2016.
“When we had a World Bank budget support of $221 million and they paid two tranches of $75 million when naira was N165 to a dollar, the third tranche of $75 million paid to my successor, and I am not going to mention any body’s name, but it was paid to my successor.
“I did the Benin-Lagos roads and several federal roads with that money, but the good thing was that, after I left office, the money I used to build those roads – N18 billion – was refunded to my successor.
“When they are talking that I left Edo in debt, tell them to publish (it) in national newspapers; what was the level of domestic debt when I left office on November 12, 2016, and what is the level of domestic debt now,” he said.
Oshiomhole, while ruing over his past mistake of choosing his successor despite several warnings from political friends and associates, said that was what he wanted to correct but he was not given the chance to do so.
“I don’t want you to make any mistakes. I made my mistake in 2016; I tried to correct it in 2020, people didn’t listen but today people are crying.
“God knows Edo people have been nice to me and in history. I am the only governor in Edo who won elections in all the 18 local government areas, and the only governor who won the 77 wards in Edo South. I owe you the truth but you must take your decision,” he said.
