Edo, PDP clash over probe of Obaseki’s $10m spending on state newspaper
The Edo State Government and the Peoples Democratic Party are at loggerheads over Governor Monday Okpebholo’s plan to probe immediate past governor, Godwin Obaseki, over $10 million spending on state-owned Nigeria Observer Newspaper.
While on inspection of the newspaper’s premises on Tuesday, the governor gave a hint of the probe as he and his team were surprised to find they could not access the buildings where the machines, purportedly purchased by the previous administration, were meant to be kept.
However, the state Publicity Secretary of the Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Chris Nehikhare, said it was laughable that the governor, who by implication is the landlord of the Nigerian Observer, claimed that he could not gain access to his own property and did not meet anyone at the establishment when he visited.
He said, “We read with utter amazement a comical press statement issued by Senator Monday Okpebholo, where he claimed that he wanted to probe the effort of the past administration of Godwin Obaseki in the transformation of the Nigerian Observer Newspaper.
“What was most laughable about the jaundiced statement is that as the Chief Executive Officer of Edo State and, by implication, the landlord of the Nigerian Observer, the governor claimed that he could not gain access to his own property and did not meet anyone at the establishment when he visited.
“It is indeed shocking and quite disappointing that Okpebholo still speaks like a stranger who is in the process of taking over a government that he was sworn into over four months ago.
For Okpebholo’s enlightenment, on November 18, 2024, just four days after taking office, he issued an order directing the sack of all staff of the Nigerian Observer who were civil servants duly employed by the state government.
“It is also alarming to hear that Okpebholo is confused as to where the sophisticated machines with which the Obaseki administration equipped the three Nigerian observer presses.
“We call on Okpebholo to get his act together for the short period he will occupy Osadebey Avenue as governor and to responsibly serve the people of Edo State.
Responding, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua, said the statement by the PDP is another embarrassing display of ignorance.
He said, “The PDP’s latest press release is another embarrassing display of ignorance, completely missing the point Governor Monday Okpebholo raised.
“The governor was referring to the $10 million that Godwin Obaseki budgeted for The Observer Newspaper shortly before the 2024 governorship elections in Edo State, not the refurbished equipment bought from ‘Ogbete Market’ in Enugu State.
“On the issue of the so-called ‘sophisticated machines,’ the PDP conveniently ignores the real concern—these overused and inefficient machines now require billions of naira to function properly.
“Obaseki may have procured them at a roadside market, but he left behind a financial burden that the present administration must now clean up.
“More troubling, confused outrage about the sacking of Observer staff. How does he expect those no longer employed to be available at the premises? His logic is as flawed as the policies of the administration he blindly defends.”
