Arson Claim As Obaseki Begins Oshiomhole Probe

The Edo State Government on Tuesday alleged a plot to burn the offices of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability upon its decision to probe the N30 billion Benin Storm project executed by the preceding Adams Oshiomhole administration. The arson claim came as Obaseki began to probe Oshiomhole, his former political godfather.

GreenWhiteGreen GWG had reported Governor Godwin Obaseki’s pledge to probe the stormwater project which was conceived to drain water away from the heart of Benin.

Speaking on Monday when he toured attachments to the project, Obaseki had said:

“You can see for yourself that the so-called stormwater project was a fraud; it was a contract to defraud Edo people. From what I can see now, the stormwater project in this catchment area was never designed to take water away from the area. The area was never drained. You can see the level of what we are doing now as compared to that of the previous administration,” Obaseki said.

Taking a dig at the minister of state for budget and national planning, Mr. Clem Agba who is a strong loyalist of Oshiomhole, the governor added:

“It is almost a two-meter difference. There is no way you can drain water from a low land into a higher ground. We say we have experts and paid over N30 billion for this project. The person that supervised this project today calls himself a minister supervising bigger projects for the Federal Government. This is not acceptable.”

Following the developments, the Edo State Government on Tuesday alleged that it had received intelligence reports of a plot to burn the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability where files containing the project were stored.

It did not say how it got the reports. However, the arson claim came as Obaseki began to probe Oshiomhole over the Benin stormwater project.

However, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Osarodion Ogie who was commissioner for works in the Oshiomhole Government in the communique on Tuesday said:

“Following the commitment of the Edo State Government to probe the N30 billion Benin stormwater project, the state received intelligence of a possible arson at the offices of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability, which houses vital documents on the project.

“The government immediately deployed security operatives to guard the premises of the Ministry overnight to protect its assets.

“We have successfully evacuated these vital documents to a safe location to ensure their integrity and in readiness of a probe.

Continuing on the Obaseki probe of Oshiomhole, the statement said:

“Government will ensure that it uncovers the details surrounding the project and its execution and also assure that all those culpable are brought to justice.

“We will do right by Edo people as always and work assiduously to ensure that our people get value for our money as regards the execution of the N30 billion stormwater project.”

Governor Obaseki like Ogie was also a key member of the Oshiomhole administration and was the chairman of the Economic Management Team for the eight years the former governor was in office.

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