While the initial fear that the police might be sucked into the alleged APC gang-up against PDP’s Gov. Godwin Obaseki in the lead-up to the September 19 election has yet to subside, a fresh one just came up.
An allegation raked up against the governor earlier has refused to go. It has rather put him on the radar of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies as a person of interest thanks to its amplification by the Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Africa .
Once again, on the heel of Obaseki’s successful campaign, the ICPC has been prompted to consider the books of Afriinvest and Primus Bank, companies Obaseki owns, which have allegedly received contracts from the state since 2016.
It is even possible the commission has begun its sleaze-hounding because the federal agency was petitioned early July—about enough time for a witch-hunt if that’s on the cards.
According to the coalition, Obaseki has been “stashing Edo’s funds in Afrinvest Ltd, and the monies formed the starting capital for Primus Bank, a regional bank awaiting CBN approval”.
“On July 4, we were shocked, like all Edo State indigenes, to read the petition by members of Obaseki’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ICPC against the governor over his corrupt relationship with the firm (Afrinvest Limited) he founded and he was chairman of its Board of Directors, before he was elected governor, and Primus Bank,” the group, through its Dep. National Chairman Jude Gadimoh, said at a press conference in Benin on Tuesday.
The group fingered one of Obaseki’s commissioner arrested abroad ‘for possessing an unexplained $2 million, and has remained in detention for money laundering’.
“We demand immediate commencement of investigation into the allegations levelled by the petitioners against Obaseki, in order to serve justice to the people of Edo State, who have suffered double jeopardy of an incompetent and manically-corrupt governor.”
But the governor has been forced to respond in a manner that merely talked down the allegation, describing it as senseless.
“These are falsehood and campaigns of calumny. The allegations are not true. The governor did not divert any money. Instead, he is bringing money into the state to see how he can carry Edo forward,” he said through Communication Commissioner Efe Stewart.
“You can see the dividends of what we call MoUs (Memoranda of Understanding) that we have been talking about. We have results to show for the MoUs. The MoUs are result oriented.”
Obaseki said his enemies— the APC, its candidate Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and backer Adams Oshiomhole—know they have failed in the September election—that is why they are coming up with that blackmail.
But the group claimed some PDP members unearthed the allegations on July 4, and petitioned the ICPC.
Dafena
August 19, 2020 at 5:34 pm
Ahhhh,good news,empty drum makes the largest noise,probe will start from 2008 till date,and we will all see how oshiomole the professional executive thief has used Edo money to buy an air line and built the gigantic royal hospital in cape Verde,since the creation of Edo state,and history of Midwestern state, oshiomole received the highest allocation over #5.9trillion naira between 2008 to 2016 ,you as Edo people whose eyes are opened to see obaseki billion naira loot which are all lies,I don’t see any reasons why the same Edo people eyes will not be open to see oshiomole trillions naira loot,Who is the real thief?hold oshiomole to tender the audit statements of account between 2008 to 2016 he left office,you will all cry, oshiomole is afraid of the probe ahead,watch out,after the Sept 19th election he will run to cape Verde to stay,he killed Edo Treasury and wanted to burry it,thank God for obaseki who said no to it.sept 19th,vote obaseki and say no to this evil man who has built #10billion naira house in his home town just to make his wife and her cape Verde families happy when Edo people are all in poverty.