Cold War: Obaseki probes multibillion naira project Oshiomhole executed

The cold war between APC national chairman Adams Oshiomhole and his godson Gov. Godwin Obaseki is turning hot. One sign is preparation the governor is making to probe his predecessor and godfather.

The Edo government stated on Sunday it will soon set up a Commission of Enquiry to probe the billions of naira Oshiomhole spent  on the numerous contracts awarded for the reconstruction of the Central Hospital Complex in Benin City.

The move is to ascertain if details of the contracts were strictly followed, especially the quality of materials, as heavy bills are being incurred for patch up work at the hospital.

The government also wants to determine the extent of irregularities regarding the purchase of equipment, among others.

According to a statement from Obaseki’s special adviser, Crusoe Osagie, the commission of enquiry is to have a holistic study of how the contract was awarded.

He said there are calls from within the government asking Governor Obaseki to probe the contracts in which billions of taxpayers’ money were expended on a project that was poorly executed.

“The state government will investigate allegations of fraud and irregularities with the contracting for procurement of the hospital equipment. Individuals contracted to procure the hospital equipment will be called to hear their side of the story, and we will investigate their claims to unravel why the equipment are yet to be supplied denying taxpayers’ value for their money,” the statement read.

It added that the contractors who handled the building have questions to answer including those regarding shoddy jobs done on the said project.

“Work is ongoing at the hospital to patch up parts of the Hospital, as parts of the facility were poorly constructed leading to collapse of the roof in some sections.

“Repairs are ongoing in some sections that were hitherto inoperable because of poor design that was not compatible with modern hospital infrastructure,” Osagie said.

President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the hospital in November 2016 when former Gov. Adams Oshiomhole’s second term administration was winding down.

Many political observers following the progress of the war between Oshiomhole and Obaseki know the hostility will soon degenerate to this kind of backstabbing.