A Former Governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion, has replied the current state Governor, Adams Oshiomhole on his claim that the former allegedly squandered trillions of Federal Allocations and Internal Generated Revenue he collected in the last seven years.
The former governor asked Oshiomhole to explain to people of Edo State, particularly, Nigerians how he got and spent the said money.
Igbinedion was reacting to a recent statement credited to Oshiomhole where he alleged that the he (Igbinedion) has been enriching himself and family members from the hard-earned resources of the state.
In a statement he personally signed in Abuja on Saturday, Igbinedion promised to expose his successor at the appropriate time.
The Edo State Government had on Wednesday said it had begun moves to recover $31 million allegedly “fraudulently taken” from the government coffers, during Igbinedion’s administration.
Oshiomhole also vowed to publish records of fraud allegedly perpetrated by the ex-governor, adding that he would forward all the files containing the alleged fraud to Abuja this week for prosecution.
In his reaction, Igbinedion, however, said records of activities during his tenure were open to the public.
He said: “I have made it very clear, time without numbers that the files of my tenure are there for everybody who cares to check. I do not intend to dignify Adams Oshiomhole any longer by joining issue with him.
“He should explain to the people of Edo State how he spent the federal allocations and internal generated revenues running into trillions of naira in seven years.
“He should tell the people of Edo how much he is paying as land tax for his house in Iyamho worth over N10 billion and other properties he has acquired in the last seven years in Dubai, Cape Town in South Africa, in San Francisco, United States of America, a high rise apartment in Atlanta also in America and in London. He is calling everybody a thief but Oshiomhole is the biggest thief in Benin City today.”
The statement further added that because Oshiomhole had allegedly mismanaged the financial resources of the state, which were entrusted in his care in the last seven years, and currently receiving the hit from the people, the governor was looking for ways to divert people’s attention.
Igbinedion said, “Oshiomhole has failed; the people of Edo State now know him better. Oshiomhole is the least qualified person to talk about corruption in the country today because his actions and programmes in the last seven years in Edo State epitomise corruption.
“He has called everybody in Nigeria a thief; called former President Olusegun Obasanjo a thief; called former President Goodluck Jonathan a thief, he called (ex-Minister of Finance, Ngozi) Okojo-Iweala a thief, and others. Yet, he cannot prove his cases. I don’t think he knows the meaning of a thief.
“He lives in the glass house and throwing stones. President Muhammadu Buhari will soon find out the real Oshiomhole by the time we provide documents against him,” the statement added.
