EDO state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, were yesterday locked in a war of words over alleged plot by the state government to secure N18 billion loan.
The former chairman, Media of APC Campaign Council of the 2020 governorship election in the state, John Mayaki, had issued a statement accusing Governor Godwin Obaseki of seeking N18 billion loan to further increase the state’s debt profile.
But Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement issued yesterday, described Mayaki as the goon of the former National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who he alleged got Mayaki to issue the statement.
He said: “It is quite unfortunate that we are compelled to once again attend to the ranting from the camp of the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who has grown fond of Edo State government treasury and cannot fathom to bear the pain that he would never have access to the till, with which the governor has continued to pursue developmental projects for the progress and advancement of the state.’’
He added that the lack of critical thinking in the camp of Oshiomhole was becoming clearer with the inconsistencies in the allegations, as it was claimed that the governor was taking the loan with the plan to pay back with the state’s 13 percent crude oil derivation credits.
According to him, the writer in same line of thought, alleged that there was no clear repayment plan.
“Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is not profligate like Oshiomhole and this much is evident from the governor’s leadership style as well as the manner in which he has managed the state’s resources to the admiration of local and foreign partners who continue to commend the prudent, transparent and judicious allocation of resource in pursuit of sustainable development and economic advancement in the state,’’ Nehikhare said.
But in a swift reaction, the Assistant State Publicity Secretary of the APC in Edo State, Ofure Osehobor, said the APC found it laughable that each time a matter of vital and urgent public importance to the good people of Edo State was raised, “the PDP goes bananas and starts chasing shadows instead of focusing on the very critical issue at stake.
“The issue this time around is very clear or let’s put it as a question: Is the governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, and his administration taking another N18 billion loan to mortgage the future of Edo State, so soon after taking N25-billion loan from the capital market?
“This is not an attack but a very simple question which anyone can answer. Since all questions have answers, whether good or bad, the wisest thing for the party concerned to do in the circumstances would have been to speak to the issue.
“Edo people want to know, what are the loans being collected for? Why is due process being sidelined in the process of seeking and collecting the loans?
Why are Edo people being kept in the dark about loans that their unborn children will spend decades repaying? These are the issues.”
