The Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday came hard on the government of Godwin Obaseki accusing it of not disclosing how much the state received from the arrears of 13 percent derivation paid by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as recently revealed by the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
The party also accused the government of not disclosing the financial position of the state and accused it of hoarding the derivation fund to “buy votes’ during the 2023 election “particularly the election into the House of Assembly”
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat of the party, state chairman of the party, Col David Imuse (rtd) claimed that the activities of Obaseki was because there is no properly constituted state House of Assembly.
He said “Governor Obaseki should explain why he has deliberately refused to specify amounts received as 13% derivation fund in his 2023 budgets estimates.
“Mr Obaseki has been busy maligning the Federal government accusing it of printing paper money to fund statutory allocations and mismanagement of the national economy whereas as a deliberate policy, he has been pocketing Edo state monies by mismanaging the derivation funds.
“Since Edo State does not have a functional House of Assembly to checkmate Obaseki, Edo people should demand the Governor publicly indicate the whereabouts of the said fund.”
Imuse also carpeted the Edo Residency identity cards being planned by the state government for residents describing it as unconstitutional even as he accused the state government of demolishing and acquiring peoples properties in the name of new town development.
He said “This is a governor who cannot account for all the monies he has received from the Federation account since he took office while wasting billions of Naira on such white elephant projects like the Benin Enterprise and Industrial Park, the Benin Innovation Hub, Edo Tech Park, the Edo Refinery and Petrochemicals Company, the Gelegele Seaport, the University of Innovation, the Benin Technical College, claiming that he has bolstered the growth of a non-existent private sector.”
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