Obaseki Denies Alleged N600bn Debt Under His Tenure

by Patrick Ochoga

Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has denied leaving a debt of N600bn.

The former governor asked the incumbent Governor, Monday Okpebholo, to cross check with the Debt Management Office (DMO) on whether Edo drew a debt of 600 billion Naira.

Obaseki, who spoke through his media adviser, Crusoe Osagie, said lies being spewed by the Okpebholo’s administration is giving the country a bad image.

He said no government at whatever level whether local government, state government or federal government, has capacity to draw loans or enter into any debt arrangement without the knowledge and approval of the DMO.

Obaseki said certain statements from the Edo State government gave the impression that the state was being governed by people who don’t understand what it means to run a government.

Obaseki stated that comments by Edo Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, were false and outrightly out of place.

He said such comments rubbed off negatively on the President of the country and the country in general.

On the planned probe of Radisson Hotel, Obaseki noted that the hotel remained an international brand that entered into a business agreement with Edo State with all T’s crossed and all I’s dotted.

He insisted that every record about the transaction between Radisson Hotel and the Edo State government were contained in the transition report.

According to him, “Radisson Hotel is an international investment drawing funds from the German government, United Kingdom’s government, French government for its development. You think such an investment will be put on a land that was not ceded to that organization by the state.

“These people just come out there and toss all kinds of irresponsible information out there. At the end of the day what happens is that all of these turn around to form the intelligence that gathered out of Nigeria by the international community.

“It makes these countries think that the country is a failed state and the place is not being governed.

“So when comments like this begin to come out of a state like Edo also governed by the All Progressive Congress, it gives credence to the attitude that we are receiving from foreign nations.

“Can you people kindly ask where that N600bn he is speaking about is recorded in the DMO office. If Obasaki took such loans or had such indebtedness at least you can find it there in the DMO office. So he comes out and spews these lies and makes this statement. It gives the impression that the state is being governed by touts. It gives impression that the state is being governed by people who don’t understand what it means to run government.”