Aziegbemi also claimed Gov Okpebholo procured over N5 billion worth of vehicles without proper procurement process
By Kehinde Okeowo
The caretaker committee chairman of the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Anthony Aziegbemi has accused the state governor, Monday Okpebholo of squandering over N30 billion left in the state’s coffer by the immediate past government just two weeks after he was sworn-in.
He made this known in Benin, the capital of Edo State at a recent press conference titled, “State of the Nation Address”.
According to him, Okpebholo used the money saved by the previous administration to compensate the “godfathers” who worked for him during the September 21 governorship election.
Aziegbemi also accused the APC-led government of not paying the state’s civil and public workers the November monthly salary and noted that the development was contrary to the record set by his predecessor.
He further alleged that the APC-led government in the state had within two weeks in office procured over N5 billion worth of vehicles without a proper procurement process.
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He went on to allege that Governor Monday Okpebholo’s government was desperately looking for ways to pass entries for over N2 billion it incurred during inauguration.
Aziegbemi said, “for 8 years the PDP-led administration paid salaries on or before the 25th of every month, and as of today, they have not been able to pay November salaries even though the Obaseki-led PDP administration left over N30bn in the state coffers.
“What have they done with that money? They have filtered the money away and shared it with their godfathers for the roles they played in circumventing the will of the people
“We are aware that as we speak, nobody in the state has received any credit alert for the payment of November 2024 salary. The government of Godwin Obaseki paid salary 26th of every month
“Governor Okpebholo has procured over N5bn worth of vehicles without proper procurement process which has created a crisis to the extent that the Permanent Secretary Governor’s office is threatening civil servants in Central administration for refusing to accept vehicles due to improper documentation, while desperately looking for ways to pass entries for over N2bn of inauguration costs.”
