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2023 Nigeria Decides

How Omo-Agege Caused His Defeat In Delta – Ojougboh, APC Chief

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Omo-Agege Ojougboh expulsion

A senior member of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State, Dr Cairo Ojougboh has blamed the party’s defeat in the governorship election to the candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege who, he said, pocketed the party structure thinking he could rely on defectors from the PDP.

According to Dr Ojougboh, many PDP defectors on a closer look chose to work for the devil they knew in the PDP than enthrone Omo-Agege based on what he claimed as their past dealings with him.

Ojougboh spoke in an interview on Arise News Television on Tuesday morning following the declaration of the PDP’s candidate, Hon Sheriff Oborevwori as governor-elect.

Omo-Agege has since renounced the declaration vowing to challenge it based on allegations of rigging, voter suppression among others.

Dr Ojougboh who said that many party leaders were scorned by Omo-Agege once he got the party structure also made allusions to unfaithfulness on the party leadership in the state in prosecuting the presidential election. According to him resources provided by the party leadership for the presidential election were squandered.

Noting how Senator Omo-Agege allegedly was deceived by defectors, he said: “as people were coming in we were just looking at them, most of them their political value you can query. So, there was no panic as to how the result would go in Delta State.”

“When only one person took the structure of APC and put it in his pocket, you didn’t expect much and if you look at the result out of 25 local governments, APC was only able to win only four and that was despite the fact that the APC was running on the bandwagon effect of the presidential election. But it didn’t help just because of the way the party at the national level conducted the affairs of the APC in Delta State.”

Noting that the voting in Delta has demystified the voting mystique about the riverine votes that in the past altered permutations, he said:

“It is now clear that the voting strength in Delta is in Delta North. People used to think it was in Delta South, but the result that came from Delta South was merely abysmal and the fishes and shrimps that used to vote in Delta South were not on show this time around and human beings came to vote. So, the voting strength now is between the Central and Delta North.”

Praising the introduction of the BVAS machine, Ojougboh said:

“What made the PDP win in Delta was the BVAS, with BVAS you cannot rig more than the accreditation. Those kinds of votes that used to come out from the rivers and from the creeks didn’t come this time. So, what you saw was fairly reflective of what happened.”

Reiterating his claim that Omo-Agege entered the election without the support of APC leaders with many of those who followed him deceiving him, Ojougboh continued:

“I can tell you that apart from myself and very few leaders, very few leaders voted for APC. What the governorship candidate did was to hope that he will steal the PDP people and they will come and vote for him. Even when those PDP people came to APC, on the voting day, they looked at the two candidates and said this one? Let’s ’s better go back to the devil we know (PDP) and that’s exactly what happened. A lot of the PDP people still voted for the PDP.”

Noting how Omo-Agege allegedly snubbed efforts at consensus building in the state, he said:

“The national body put together a body of elders to manage the process so that everybody would be carried along. I was the secretary of that body. Eleven of us cooperated and only the candidate said that the party has been bequeathed to him and that he is the owner and cannot join the lesser mortals and that he is a supreme being. We did everything we could, he said he is the only one who can fight.

“Me I don’t know how to lie. Most of the leaders during the campaign were dancing and following him, beating drums, meanwhile, they were deceiving him. So, there was no foundation for the APC as it were.

“At the national convention it was obvious who worked for the president-elect and who didn’t work for the president-elect.

“At the presidential and National Assembly elections, materials were given for work to the state, a lot of that material was not used that the APC could not make 25% in the presidential election, so if APC could not make 25% in the presidential election, so how do you think that it will not catapult and come and win. So, the people who were shortchanged also were not happy and they paid back.”

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2023 Nigeria Decides

Dangote’s Name Heats Up Edo Governorship Campaign

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Dangote Firms

Nigeria’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has become an issue in the unfolding contest for the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Edo State with pointers to his indirect connection with one of the major aspirants.

Though there is no established personal or business links between Dangote and Asue Ighodalo, some stakeholders in the Edo election are linking the two on account of the past links between the billionaire industrialist and the outgoing governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki.

Obaseki’s links with Dangote flow from his role as a capital market adviser to the industrialist, moves that greatly enhanced Dangote’s portfolio and turned him into a dollar billionaire.

Ighodalo, one of Nigeria’s biggest corporate players has generally been linked to Obaseki with a section of the PDP aligned to Obaseki fervently drumming support for him.

However, the mainstream of the PDP under the leadership of Chief Dan Orbih, National Vice Chairman, South-South, has also remained lukewarm towards Ighodalo and that is despite a charm offensive championed by Obaseki to restore cordiality with the party mainstream in Edo State.

In the face of this, the Dangote connection has burst out with some stakeholders in the Edo State chapter of the PDP saying that they would not allow another Dangote man after eight years of Obaseki.

The animosity against the Ighodalo connection is despite the fact that there is no clear link between the billionaire industrialist and the PDP aspirant beyond their obvious boardroom conviviality.

At the root of the animosity is the claim that Ighodalo is a direct political offspring from Obaseki who Edolites are saying May walk in the same path in disregarding the political class like the outgoing governor.

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My Husband Will Give Women Prominent Roles In Edo Government – Ex-Minister’s Wife

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Agba women

Mrs Catherine Agba, wife of the immediate past Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, has promised prominent roles for women in the state if her husband emerges as Edo Governor in 2024.

Mrs Agba said this on Sunday in Benin, during the diaspora awareness meeting of the Edo Women in Diaspora (EWID) with women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the state.

Represented by Mrs Roseline Odiye, Convener of EWID, Agba appealed for support for her husband from women in 18 Local Government Areas of the state, to actualise the plan.

She said that women needed to occupy prominent roles because of their capacity to deliver in any given assignment and their compassion to humanity.

Speaking in her own capacity, Odiye, said Agba represented all that would be needed to deliver effective leadership and development in the state.

While noting that they were not politicians, Odiye said that they decided to canvass support for the former minister because of his past records in both public and private offices.

The support, she said would not end at soliciting for votes for him, but to go all out to mobilise resources to achieve the ambition.

She said the group was out to secure the future of the children and those yet unborn in the state.

“We are ‘polithinkers’ and not politicians. We envisage what we want for our children. We will put our heads together to make sure that we get someone that is right for us.

“Clem Agba is the right person who has exemplified leadership in both public and private positions he has held.

“We believe that under his leadership as the state governor, women will play important role in the development of our dear state and beyond.

“He also has the capacity to build a better state for us and our children yet unborn,” Odiye said.

On her part, Dr Mercy Grant, Chairperson, EIWD, said Agba’s nomination would not only boost the APC chances of winning the election, but would also ensure the overall development and well-being of the people of the state.

She said the aspirant’s expertise and competence made him the ideal candidate to lead Edo towards progress and prosperity.

“We hope that our plea will be considered and that Agba will emerge as the party’s choice for the governorship election in Edo State,” she stated.

Similarly, the state APC woman leader, Mrs Betty Okoebor, said the party paraded technocrats and household names for the governorship election slated for 2024.

While eulogising Agba, Okoebor said the former minister had distinguished himself in various capacity.

She promised to spread the EIWD message to the women in different parts of the state. (NAN)

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Untold Reason Lamidi Apapa Disqualified Olumide Akpata From Edo Guber

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Apapa Akpata Labour

The Lamidi Apapa faction of Labour Party has explained the reasons for its decision to disqualify the erstwhile national president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata from the forthcoming governorship primary of the party in Edo State.

The explanation came in the face of the faction’s expression of disgust with the beating to a near pulp of its National Youth Leader, Anslem Eragbe by irate persons in Benin City on Friday.

The Lamidi Apapa faction has meanwhile, accused Akpata among other actors in the mainstream of the party for the beating. The mainstream of the party in Edo under the leadership of the state chairman has, however, accused the All Progressives Congress, APC for the beating of Eragbe.

Meanwhile, spokesman of the Apapa faction, Abayomi Arabambi has traced the decision to disqualify Akpata from the Edo governorship race to his donation of buses to the Julius Abure-led mainstream of the party.

Speaking in an interview on Channels Television, Arabambi said:

“The 20 buses he bought and the people he gave them to are local government (officials) of Abure faction,” Arabambi said in faulting the decision of the former NBA president to pledge loyalty to the Abure leadership despite what he claimed as the pendency of legal disputes.

“These are the people he just donated 18 buses to and he will now go and be telling us that he is not aware. He is aware.

“As a former NBA president he is aware. You know this man has been restrained, yet you took all your arsenal to him,” Arabambi said in faulting what he alleged as the proclivity of Akpata to the Abure faction.

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Labour Party Accuses APC Of Beating Lamidi Apapa’s Men In Benin

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A new twist to the blue and black beating of Anslem Eragbe, the National Youth Leader of the Lamidi Apapa faction of Labour Party in Benin City emerged at the weekend after the chairman of the party in Edo State, Comrade Kelly Ogbaloi blamed the All Progressives Congress, APC for the melee.

Ogbaloi in a press conference said that Labour Party was not involved in the beating as against the claims of many people in social media, saying that Eragbe had ceased to be a member of the Labour Party

According to him Eragbe who he described as a former National Youth Leader was in conspiracy with the Laimidi Apapa tendency to destabilise Labour Party and were sponsored by the APC for the venture to destabilise the opposition party.

GWG.ng, however, reports that Apapa has in the past dismissed such claims of being on the payroll of the APC.

Ogbaloi at his press conference alleged that the APC sent its men after Eragbe for his alleged failure to deliver on the promise to destroy Labour Party and were as such responsible for the beating.

He said:

“Trending in the news today is that one Anslem Eragbe was beaten up by Labour Party officials. Eragbe who was an erstwhile National Youth Leader of Labour Party having been expelled was beaten and today we are hearing that some people within the political environment of Nigeria and Edo State in particular have credited that incident to Labour Party.

“We are here to refute that in totality. Labour Party is a decent party, law abiding and will have no reason whatsoever to result to violence in addressing issues that confront it.

“If we were to do this we wouldn’t have gone to court initially to deal with the issues that Eragbe and his cohorts brought to us.

“Eragbe could have been beaten up in his circumstances that he has always been in…fr–dulent activities and all that.

“We are aware that in the time that they were going after Labour Party that they were heavily sponsored by the APC and today we have the information that indeed because of a lot of money that they have been sponsored by the APC and because they have been unable to deliver on the promises that they made to APC, that the APC is against them and they are following them up and down and as a result of that sent people after them.

“So, this beating of Eragbe must be a matter that should be brought up to the door step of APC to find out what happened to him and not Labour Party.

“We make bold to say that Anslem Eragbe is no longer a member of Labour Party, he is not our member, we don’t know him.

“So, whatever is associated with him cannot be associated with us Labour Party.

“We have no reason to send anybody after Eragbe  and it is not to our conviction that if he was beaten that our members were involved in it,” he said in blaming the APC for beating Eragbe.

GWG.ng has been unable to get Eragbe to confirm the narration from Labour Party but the Apapa faction had in the past distanced from any ties with the APC.

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Edo 2024: Ex-NBA President, Akpata Opens Up On Beating Of Lamidi Apapa’s Men

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APC beating Eragbe

Frontline Labour Party governorship aspirant in Edo State, Mr Olumide Akpata has reacted to insinuations of his involvement in the beating blue and black of the party’s factional National Youth Leader, Anslem Eragbe who is aligned to the Lamidi Apapa faction.

GWG.ng reports that Eragbe alongside another member of the Lamidi Apapa faction of the party were beaten to pulp in Benin City after they issued guidelines for the conduct of the party’s governorship primary.

That guideline of the Lamidi Apapa faction remarkably stated that Akpata, a former national president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA was excluded over claims the faction made that he was a mole of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Reacting to the insinuations of his involvement as asserted by the Apapa faction, Akpata in an interview expressed his shock saying that he was not even in Benin.

He said:

“This man has insinuated that I am behind the attack that took place in Benin and this is ridiculous and I wonder why he has singled me out.

“The first thing we saw yesterday was that Labour Party has asked Akpata not to present himself as an aspirant in Labour Party because he is a mole of Governor Obaseki

“My friends and supporters were shocked by this and everybody reached out to me and I was worried myself. We reached out to the Labour Party in Edo State and said there was nothing as such and when I opened the article I realized that it was Mr Arabambi and his colleagues who issued that statement.

“They singled me out of all the aspirants and said don’t present yourself because you are a mole of Governor Obaseki and Mr Arabambi comes on national television that whatever melee happened in Benin.”

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Apapa’s Men Beaten To Pulp In Benin As Edo Labour Party Disclaims Guidelines (Videos)

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APC beating Eragbe

The Edo State chapter of Labour Party has disclaimed purported guidelines and time-table for the Edo governorship primaries of the party issued by the Lamidi Apapa faction of the party even as agents of the faction sent ahead of the primaries were publicly beaten to pulp in Benin.

The guidelines were reportedly issued by Dr Abayomi Arabambi.

In a press release signed by the Publicity Secretary and Image maker of Edo State Labour Party, Comrade Sam Uroupa noted that the said Dr Abayomi Arabambi is neither a member of Labour Party nor an official of the party and therefore lacks the locus to issue any statement on behalf of the party.

GWG.ng reports that the disclaimer came on the heels of a viral video that showed the purported National Youth Leader of the Apapa faction Anslem Eragbe and other associates being beaten to pulp by irate party supporters in Benin, Edo State.

They had supposedly arrived to prepare for the governorship primary.

Disclaiming the Apapa faction, the mainstream of the party in Edo State said:

“The attention of the Edo State chapter of Labour Party has been drawn to the release of a purported time table of activities for Edo State governorship primaries and signed by one Dr Abayomi Arabambi ahead the 2024 gubernatorial election.

“The Edo State chapter of Labour Party wishes to state as follows: That the national secretariat of the Labour Party has not released guidelines for the nomination of the party’s candidate for the Edo State 2024 governorship election.

“The said Dr Abayomi Arabambi who issued the purported guidelines and timetable for the Labour Party in respect of the Edo State Labour Party gubernatorial primaries is not a member of Labour Party and therefore lacks the locus to formulate guidelines for the Edo State Labour Party gubernatorial primaries and issue same to the public

“The Edo State chapter of Labour Party has a communication channel with the national secretariat of the party and this imposter – Dr Abayomi Arabambi – is not in any way connect with chain of communication.

While appealing to the party’s governorship aspirants for the Edo governorship election, its members and the general public to disregard the purported guidelines, the statement assured that the public will be duly informed of the activities lined up for the Edo governorship primaries when the party national secretariat issues the guidelines and time table.

“The general public will be duly informed through the appropriate Labour Party communication channel the guidelines and timetable for the party’s governorship primaries for the Edo State 2024 gubernatorial election when it is issued by the national secretariat of Labour Party.

“We appeal to all the Labour Party governorship aspirants in Edo State, all party members, our teeming supporters in Edo State and the general public to disregard the guidelines and timetable for the Edo State governorship election as issued by Dr Abayomi Arabambi as he’s not a member of Labour Party”, he said in the wake of the video of the Apapa associates being beaten in Benin.

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Shame Obaseki Still Travels On Bad Roads In Edo – Afegbua

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Obaseki roads Afegbua

2024 Edo State governorship hopeful, Prince Kassim Afegbua has promised to declare a state of emergency on deteriorating infrastructure in the state lamenting it as a shame that the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki still travels around on the state’s bad roads.

“I want to open up the Edo market through infrastructural renewal to expose  the state for economic entrepreneurial drive”, Afegbua told enthusiastic All Progressive Congress (APC ) party faithful in Owan West Local Government of the state during a campaign stop he said as he cited roads infrastructure as a major aim if he succeeds Obaseki.

He began his local government consultation tour from Edo North Senatorial district comprising Owan West, Owan East,  Etsako East, Estako West, Estako Central and Akoko-Edo local government areas yesterday .

 Afegbua decried  the present sorry state of road infrastructure in the state which he said has  contributed to poor economy and  unabating  insecurity challenges  in the state.

According to Afegbua ” Edo state is presently an abandoned state orchestrated  by Godwin Obaseki’s  government of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) that has continued to rape the state of its economic fortunes .

” Rather than sit down to deepen governance and address the poor economic situation in the state, the  governor has been spreading hatred and disharmony across the land.

” It is a shame that he still travels across the state on the  deplorable  state of Federal and state roads  without any concrete intervention,” Afegbua said in a hit at Governor Obaseki.

” When I am opportune to govern the state, Edo State will become a construction hub to provoke the right infrastructure that could open up the Edo market”.

Afegbua bemoaned the woes that have befallen the state on account of poor governance  pointing out that the incumbent Governor has done more damage to the state than could be imagined.

The governorship contender stressed:  “it has been a government of failure, enabled by failure and driven by propaganda. There is no state cohesion and harmony that should propel development and growth.

“Edo state is in the news for the wrong reasons; Schools are in shambles, health care facilities are in deplorable conditions while the general psyche of the people has been broken.

“In such a depressing situation, you see pretenses everywhere and a season of despair”.

Scores of Owan West party Leaders commended Afegbua for being steadfast as  a man of integrity, character and courage.

 “According to the party stalwarts ” We know your antecedents. We have watched you over the years, we can attest to your capacity to further the narrative of good governance.

” If we have our way, we would just make you our party flag bearer without going through the rigous of primaries because you are a man of outstanding character .

“But be assured of our support when the primary election comes”.

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Obaseki Charms Edo PDP Leaders With Christmas Visits

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The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, as part of the festivities, took time to visit leaders and stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo North Senatorial District, to celebrate with them amid the yuletide.

Obaseki at the Christmas and New Year courtesy visit to the PDP leaders in Eperi, Fugar and Ogbona respectively, said he was around to reach out to the stakeholders and other citizens of the State in the spirit of Christmas.

The leaders visited in Edo North Senatorial District include National Vice Chairman, PDP South-South, Chief Dan Orbih in Ogbona; former Senatorial candidate, Hon. Barr. Paschal Ogbome, in Ugbekpe-Eperi and former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe in Fugar all in Etsako Central Local Government Area of the State, among others.

Governor Obaseki was accompanied on the visit to the Edo PDP leaders by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Osaigbovo Iyoha; Deputy National Youths Leader of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor; members of Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA); serving Commissioners and top government functionaries, amongst others.

Obaseki said, “Edo is one united indivisible entity with groups that need to look out for each other’s good and take actions to forestall and strengthen our unity. We are one group and share strong values and our values should keep us together.

“As the governor of Edo State, it is important for me to reach out to our citizens to continue to contribute to the progress and development of Edo State, and clearly you can’t talk about the politics of Nigeria and PDP without talking about the role played by National Vice Chairman PDP, South-South, Chief Dan Orbih.

“This is the time for peace and love as we are going round to meet our people because this year has been a very difficult time for us. Before politics, let’s talk to our people as politics will come at the back of it all.”

Decrying the poor state of the Benin-Auchi Road and the continued failure of the federal government to fix their roads in the State, Obaseki said, “I have traveled the Benin-Auchi Road as this was an opportunity for me to go round and I just felt like crying seeing the state of the road this dry season. I am just imagining what will happen in the next rainy season.

“I am just concerned about the welfare of Edo people and Nigerians. Coming here to listen and hear the pains of our people who have not had light in Ugbekpe-Eperi for six months, those are the priorities we want to talk about. These are the issues politics should fix, not putting politics before the issues affecting our people and citizens.”

He added, “The issue in PDP and in our politics in Edo State is exaggerated. I don’t agree that there is a semi-ideological divide. A few people are not happy and you are not expecting everyone to be happy. I came from another party to join PDP and I am glad I did and am happy they gave us the umbrella. PDP is a solid party, with a good structure and great politicians. Few people may have issues that are normal and we will address them with time.”

Earlier, Chief Dan Orbih thanked the governor and his entourage for the visit, noting, “We are working hard as a party to move our State forward. We are happy you traveled through this route to this place and sure you have experienced what we experienced and sure you will put more effort into ensuring that the federal government puts efforts to address the issue of federal bad roads.

Also, Hon. Paschal Ugbome, who described the governor as the father of the party in the State, said “I represent a divide of the party and the governor is doing everything to ensure that everyone who has one disagreement or the other is resolved.

“We have an election coming and all of us want to ensure that we bridge the gap and sort out all the issues that are causing disagreement between us to ensure unity. This is why the governor is moving round across the divide to ensure unity,” he said following the visit to Edo PDP leaders by Obaseki.

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Obaseki’s Instruction And New Reasons We Slashed Deputy Governor’s Budget – Speaker

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Shaibu Edo Impeachment panel

The Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Blessing Agbebaku on Thursday said the reason for slashed budget allocation for the Deputy Governor in the 2024 Appropriation was because the deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu will have little work to do in the incoming year as he will be busy pursuing his ambition to be governor.

Recall that  the office of the Deputy Governor got about 345 million naira in the 2024 budget, while that of the Governor 19 billion; Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly 13 billion naira, SSG got 18 billion, HOS 968 million in the 2024 Appropriation.

Speaking to journalists on the controversy over the slash in the budget of the deputy governor in his office at the Edo State House of Assembly, Agbebaku also dispelled rumours that there was disenchantment among some members of the house and that they were plotting to make the house ungovernable for him

According to him, “Unlike the other offices like the SSG, HoS and others, the office of the governor and the deputy governor are the same, it is not only in this year’s budget, even in previous years that is how it has been. On this occasion, the governor stated clearly that since the deputy governor has not performed his functions in the outgoing year because of his aspiration, which he recognized to be a huge one and time consuming, most of his functions were relocated to other offices as the governor has the powers to do so.

  “All of us know that the deputy governor doesn’t have constitutional powers bestowed on him except that which is allocated to him by the governor. So, most of those things that the deputy governor used to do, the governor has removed from him.  He has even gone on media to complain that he is no longer working, if you are not doing work, who will now give you money?

  “The money is not allotted to you as a personal gift, it is given for work so if you are not working, naturally the money will not come and there is no way you can be working effectively when you are pushing that ambition.

“We are talking about a year where the most part of it, almost 11 months will be on electioneering so how are you now going to function properly as a deputy governor? In his magnanimity, the governor has said, I don’t want to be a stumbling block on your ambition on your route to becoming governor. So you should have your time to pursue your ambition to fruition. So to that extent, he said okay, I’m not going to give you too much function. So if you’re not given too much function, then not much money will be given to you.”

Besides the controversy over the slash in the budget of the deputy governor, the Edo Speaker also commented on the allegation that the office the Speaker got over 19 billion naira. Agbebaku said there was no allocation to his office but what was there is the allocation to the state house of assembly.

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