Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, have engaged in a heated verbal exchange over the alleged embezzlement of N96 billion in local government funds.
Okpebholo recently revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would prosecute several impeached local government chairmen implicated in the scandal, accusing them of mismanaging over N95 billion in public funds.
The governor stated, “The truth is that the administration of former governor Godwin Obaseki took Edo people for granted. They took everything belonging to Edo people and channeled it for their personal gains.” Okpebholo vowed to take the report to the EFCC, adding, “We will go after them and retrieve what they have stolen from Edo people.”
The controversy erupted after a panel, set up in December 2024 to investigate the financial activities of the 18 impeached local government chairmen, reported the diversion of N96 billion into private accounts. Chairman of the panel, Barr. Solomon Imohiosen, noted that forensic investigations had confirmed significant mismanagement of funds.
In response, Obaseki’s media adviser, Osagie, condemned the allegations, describing them as a “desperate attempt to justify Okpebholo’s unconstitutional onslaught on the elected leadership of the third tier of government.”
Obaseki, he added, “was never obsessed with control of local government funds during his tenure, as Okpebholo has shown himself to be in the last three months.”