…accuses Obaseki of abandoning his administration’s projects
. Oshiomhole ran the most corrupt govt in Edo history – APC chieftain
…says ex-gov should be in jail
Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said that the crux of the matter in his current political face-off with his successor, Governor Godwin Obaseki, is the incumbent’s failure to continue with the projects and programmes his immediate past administration in the state initiated but could not complete before his tenure ended.
Oshiomhole, who broke his long silence on his perceived disagreement with his political godson and successor, said that he had expected Governor Obaseki to carry on with the execution of the projects and programmes the immediate past administration under him initiated, for the sake of continuity, especially since it was part of the promises they made to the people of the state during the last campaigns, which culminated in the election of the incumbent governor.
The APC national chairman argued that if Governor Obaseki had continued with the project and programmes of the previous administration under him, the people of the state would have benefitted more than they currently do.
Oshiomhole cited the case of the Central Hospital his administration constructed and inaugurated, but which the incumbent governor has since put under lock and key, denying the people of the state the use of the health facility.
He stressed that contrary to speculations in many quarters, his disagreement with his now estranged political godson was not over money, other pecuniary interests or political considerations, but Obaseki’s decision to completely halt and even do away with all the vestiges of the immediate past administration under his leadership.
Oshiomhole stated that much as he had refrained from intervening in the governance of Edo State under the incumbent governor, he felt so pained that Obaseki had abandoned most of the projects started by his immediate past administration in the state.
The ruling party’s national chairman also noted that, contrary to claims in some quarters, he had nothing to gain by denying the incumbent governor his right to a second term of an additional four years in government.
The APC national chairman, who spoke on a programme monitored by our correspondent in Benin City, the Edo State capital, last Friday, said, “What I expected the Governor to do, which will be the benefit of continuity, because we told Edo people we are continuing from where I stopped.
“The benefit that ought to accrue is that the governor continues with these projects so that Edo people can see the benefits. Even if I was succeeded by a PDP government, I don’t think they would have shut that hospital for as long as the governor did.
“So now I will ask you, are these issues personal to me? We have no arguments over money, we have no arguments over appointment. In fact, at the meeting that we held with four governors, including Gov. Bagudu, I asked him (Obaseki) how many commissioners I nominated into his cabinet. He agreed that I only nominated one person; only one out of more than 20 commissioners. Not many Nigerians will believe that, because for me I was out of government and I have already convinced myself that the day I step out of government, that’s it.”
The former Edo State governor further explained that he was surprised that after that first meeting, Governor Obaseki decided to sack even that single commissioner he nominated along with seven others, saying, “But that’s not my business. He has the right to appoint and remove. Those are the governor’s discretion.
“The Governor can never tell you that I have interfered in his choice of projects and so on. The only thing I feel a bit worried about is the fact that some of the projects we started together have been abandoned.
“There is no way to resolve a disagreement without talking to the aggrieved party. Let me assure you, this government is not under threat. It is those who make money from crisis, those I call merchants of confusion, they are only relevant when there is a fight, who can tell the governor ‘Oh, don’t worry, they want to impeach you.’ The governor should ask himself what he has done to deserve impeachment.
Oshiomhole stressed that he’ll gain nothing from stopping Governor Obaseki from running a second term in office, adding, “If I did what I did, whether he acknowledges it or not, people know what I did to support him to be governor. What comfort will I have if he is terminated halfway?”
But some prominent indigenes of the state have been reacting to claims by Oshionhole against Governor Obaseki.
A lawyer and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain in the state, Mr. Felix Osemwengie, advised Governor Obaseki to urgently respond to the APC national chairman’s latest allegations against him.
He said the people of Edo State deserved to know why the governor had refused to re-open the Central Hospital built and inaugurated by his predecessor, Oshiomhole, adding that the residents of the state would be interested in knowing why Obaseki abandoned all the projects of the immediate past administration when the focal point of his campaign in 2015 was continuity.
Osemwengie said, “Edo People deserve to know why he (governor) has decided to cause this unnecessary political tension in Edo State, when his office was not under threat, according to Oshiomhole. The governor must tell us who is really asking him to share Edo State’s money now that the former governor has officially come out clean. And the incumbent governor must tell us what his predecessor has done to warrant his claims of godfatherism.
“If the governor does not respond to all these issues raised by Oshiomhole, he would have finally shown his real character to all of us as an ingrate without conscience, who thrives in lies, blackmail , mischief, and the best thing he should do in this circumstance is to resign as he can no longer be trusted to govern us.”
The PDP chieftain added that in the run-up to the 2016 election, Governor Obaseki “told all of us when he came to campaign in my ward that the former governor had built a world class hospital that had been inaugurated by President Buhari, and that his government would be a government of continuity that would ensure the hospital was effectively managed in everyone’s interest. He told us himself that the hospital had been equipped with the best global medical technology. My brother, it was not Oshiomhole who told us the place was also functioning, but Obaseki did, I can swear to that. If there was any challenge that must have necessitated its continuous closure, is it appropriate for us to be kept in the dark?”
But in a swift reaction to claims by Oshiomhole, an Obaseki loyalist and Edo APC chieftain, Dr. Tarl Oshodi, described the outbursts of the ruling party’s national chairman as that of a kettle calling pot black.
Oshodi told our correspondent that it was an open secret to every resident of the state that Oshiomhole ran the most corruption-ridden and fraudulent administration in the state, adding that the former Edo governor should be in jail for all the gross infractions his government committed against the state while his tenure lasted.
He said, “That some of us aren’t saying anything on this matter doesn’t mean that we are bereft of how far we went investigating some of these issues when Oshiomhole was governor; it simply means we actually want to allow peace to reign.
“If you know the fraud that went through Airport Road Daulisation/Construction, Central Hospital Project, Water Storm, UBEC, under Oshiomhole and when we start talking, my brother this platform and several others will be littered with unnecessary and unverifiable debates on the issue.
“During the 2016 gubernatorial campaign, what do you call the statements credited to Governor Obaseki? Who was the governor when the absurdity and fraud prior to 2016, to our collective patrimony and destiny, was conducted?
Oshodi added, “So, enough of this wired blame game between the governor and his predecessor -an enterprise you have invested so much of your time in. Let those who committed fallacies and/or fraud be declared FALLACIOUS or a FRAUD.
“Take it from me, whether we like it or not – which is just not an opinion, but a research fact- with what we know from 2012 to 2016 (even when those who became aggrieved sent assassins after us, who later on their own became victims of Adams politics of calumny), it’s on record and this will amaze you that Oshiomhole’s government institutionalised strategic corruption and mob politics in levels in Edo State’s body polity.
“On a cultural ground, you might be aware of the embarrassment he meted to eminent Benin leaders. Part of these included covertly redistributing resources to develop his community of Iyamho/Edo North. Unfortunately, our so called Benin leaders didn’t just collaborate. In fact, they were quietly involved in the fraud. This I think, was because there was too much to be shared. Many of these Benin leaders, were in fact, the ones who started shouting marginalisation and humiliation, whereas, they were mute when all the thievery was going on.
The APC chieftain further said, “Then, because Oshiomhole was an exorbitant spender, he lavished Edo State monies (much got in Edo South) pursing avalanche of investment and personal grandeur, and when coffers dried up, in order to fraudulently retire state funds, a lot was done. If you doubt, go and ask the former accountant general how Edo State’s funds (particularly security votes) were spent, you will see the wonders of Babylon in Edo State under a government supervised and managed by Oshiomhole.
“Overall, I will want to suggest without getting emotional over this, that you do your thorough research when dropping your punchlines, particularly in this weird issue of Central Hospital Project.
“I am not denying or in any way refuting that Oshiomhole as governor didn’t execute any project. He did quite a lot, at least, to prove to his detractors and the PDP that he was on top of his game. And to me, he did excellently well and should be commended. Since this issue of blame this and blame that, I have been mindful of what we drop, and in a bid to correct certain inaccuracies in governance, because our people and the citizenry, majority are experts in distorting facts through obnoxious narratives. Visit Facebook, you will join me to weep for the Edo political intelligentsia, how myopic many have become.
“Having said this, Oshiomhole that I know is credited to have bled Edo dry and made the state indebted to a level that we cannot finish paying in another 20 years or more. For instance, the Water Storm Project was a sham, the Airport Road Dualisation, which was re-awarded several times, was also a fraud. UBEC issue has coma, and even the Central Hospital Project was a collaborated scam (because even our people, sons and daughters, were also very involved – I mean those highly placed). So, if you take all of this into perspective, by now Oshiomhole should be in one of the highest penitentiary facilities (maximum prisons) on several matters bothering on corruption. So, you can see the narrative here.”
