APC, Obaseki Engage In War Of Words In Edo | READ DETAILS

The party's chairman, Col. David Imuse (rtd), during a press conference yesterday in Benin City, stated that while Governor Godwin Obaseki was busy celebrating nonexistent project, his counterparts in other states were commissioning massive developmental projects. He alleged that the governor had sunk the state

Imuse said the state has been left to drift, the education system to the health services was in coma, infrastructure at various levels have dilapidated, and insecurity has become the order of the day.

Pensioners, he claimed, were being deprived of their legitimate earnings while local governments administration have been rendered useless and dysfunctional by his decision not to conduct local government elections.

Imuse expressed concern that the same government that had plunged Edo into debts was planning to take more loans.

He accused Obaseki of plunging the state into a debt of an additional N50 billion, from N81, 750,262,718.83 since he assumed office for a second term. This is exclusive of the 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 and guaranteed by an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) on Edo State's revenue issued by the State Ministry of Finance. In November last year, he again took an N18.7 billion loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria. Now Mr. Obaseki wants to take a new N7 Billion loan to finance its scam of a Light up Edo project, which in Benin City has seen the repainting of a few streetlight poles.

"Unfortunately, these loan transactions are done covertly and for nebulous projects whose scopes, utilities, locations and contractors are largely vague,ÔÇØ Imuse said.

Reacting, the commissioner for communication and orientation in the state, Adaze Emwanta described the APC and its chairman as political jokers who lacked the goodwill to appreciate the good work done for the people.

Emwanta said Governor Obaseki remained committed to fulfilling the MEGA (Making Edo Great Again) manifesto which he said was endorsed by the people of Edo State in the September 19, 2020 election.

He said that Imuse-led Edo APC's allegations, were lies concocted to discredit the efforts of the governor, adding that the claim that Edo State Government is about to source for a N7 billion facility from the capital market to fund an already completed street light project can 'only come from an idle mind that is remotely controlled by the devil'.