The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has described the performance of the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in the last seven years as abysmal.
The Edo State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, who spoke in Benin during a press briefing on Oshiomhole’s seven years in office, on Monday, noted that contrary to the testimonies of the All Progressives Congress and its supporters, the governor had failed to live up to the aspirations of the people in different sectors.
Orbih accused the state government of “siphoning money” in the name of security votes and other unnecessary projects, rather than channelling such funds into road construction and the revitalisation of ailing industries, which he said were capable of boosting the state’s economy.
He, therefore, urged the government to return the allegedly siphoned funds to the state’s coffers.
Efforts to get the governor’s reaction, through his Chief Press Secretary, Peter Okhiria, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing the report.
But Orbih said, “You cannot compare what this governor is doing with security funds with any other government anywhere in Nigeria. Every month, he takes N500m to N700m of tax payers’ money, in his own words, ‘to address urgent security challenges’.
“But you will agree with me that Edo State, as he (the governor) used to say, ‘is safe.’ We do not have Boko Haram here. So, we do not really know what he is doing with that amount. If this money is returned to the coffers of government, I can assure you that the governor will be in a position to fix the roads that are in very bad conditions.”
He alleged that records available to the party revealed that while the sum of ‘N928bn’ that accrued to the state in the past seven years ‘only N268bn’ could be accounted for through project execution and remuneration of Edo civil servants.
Orbih also said the party wonders why the governor accused one of his predecessors, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, of mismanaging funds when the current administration had yet to show true governance in areas such as youth employment and sports development, amongst others.
“I call on the governor to take full responsibility for his failure in government,” he added.
