Oshiomhole Is The Biggest Thief In Edo State – Igbenedion

Former Governor of
Edo State, Mr. Lucky Igbinedion, has asked Governor Adams Oshiomhole to explain
to the people of Edo how he allegedly squandered trillions of Federal
Allocations and Internal Generated Revenue he collected in the last seven
years.

The ex-governor
dismissed a statement credited to Oshiomhole that it took seven years for him
(the governor) to speak out on the purportedly illegalities perpetrated by him
while in office.

In a statement he
personally signed in Abuja on Satuday, Igbinedion promised to expose his
successor at the appropriate time.

The Edo State
Government had on Wednesday said it had begun moves to recover $31m allegedly
“fraudulently taken” from the government coffers, during Igbinedion’s
administration.

Oshiomhole also
vowed to publish records of fraud allegedly perpetrated by the ex-governor,
adding that he would forward all the files containing the alleged fraud to
Abuja this week for prosecution.

Oshiomhole had also
accused the ex-governor and his father, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, of allegedly
converting government properties and funds meant for the people of the state to
private use.

The governor had
said his feud with the Igbinedion family started when he revoked the over
200,000 hectares of government land, which the former governor allegedly gave
to his father in Okada, as well as the termination of the Memorandum of
Understanding the ex-governor allegedly signed with his father.

The MoU, Oshiomhole
alleged, was to allow “the medical students in Igbinedion University to use our
state-owned hospital at the expense of the Edo State Government while Chief
Igbinedion collects N1m from each medical student.”

Igbinedion, however,
said records of activities during his tenure were open to the public.

He said, “I have
made it very clear time without numbers that the files of my tenure are there
for everybody who cares to ask to check. I do not intend to dignify Adams
Oshiomhole any longer by joining issue with him.

“He should explain
to the people of Edo State how he spent the federal allocations and internal
generated revenues running into trillions naira in seven years.

“He should tell the
people of Edo how much he is paying as land tax for his house in Iyamho worth
over N10bn and other properties he has acquired in the last seven years in
Dubai, Cape Town in South Africa, in San Francisco, United States of America, a
high rise apartment in Atlanta also in America and in London. He is calling
everybody a thief but Oshiomhole is the biggest thief in Benin City today.”

The ex-governor
added that because Oshiomhole had allegedly mismanaged the financial resources
of the state, which were entrusted in his care in the last seven years, and
currently receiving the hit from the people, the governor was looking for ways
to divert people’s attention.

Igbinedion added,
“Oshiomhole has failed; the people of Edo State now know him better. Oshiomhole
is the least qualified person to talk about corruption in the country today
because his actions and programmes in the last seven years in Edo State
epitomise corruption.

“He has called
everybody in Nigeria a thief; has called former President Olusegun Obasanjo a
thief; called former President Goodluck Jonathan a thief, he called
(ex-Minister of Finance, Ngozi) Okojo-Iweala a thief, and others. Yet, he
cannot prove his cases. I don’t think he knows the meaning of a thief.

“He lives in the glass
house and throwing stones. President Muhammadu Buhari will soon find out the
real Oshiomhole by the time we provide documents against him.”

Several calls made
to the telephone of Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Peter
Okhiria, to get boss’ reaction to Igbinedion’s allegations on Saturday were not
picked.

Punch