The immediate-past administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki has left the new administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo with a huge debt burden of about N200 billion. This was disclosed by Dr. Ernest Afolabi-Umakhihe, Chairman of the Assets Verification Committee, during a press conference in Benin City, Edo State ¹.
According to Afolabi-Umakhihe, the debt is attributed to outstanding commitments to contractors who were only given mobilization fees for ongoing projects awarded in 2024. He noted that some contractors revealed that mobilization payments were sometimes siphoned back to government officials ¹.
The committee also found non-adherence to the Edo State Public Procurement Law in the award of major contracts, leading to dubious variations of contract sums. Afolabi-Umakhihe cited the Radisson Hotel project, where the state government sourced over N17.5 billion from the Stock Market and paid N2 billion for land acquisition, only to see the ownership change, leaving Edo State with 20% ownership ¹.
Other projects with irregularities include the Museum of West Africa Arts (MOWAA), which has no equity stake in Edo State despite the state spending N3.8 billion as contribution. Additionally, the state government committed to paying over N5 billion for a cyber security software license for the EdoGov platform, with N1.7 billion already paid by the immediate past government ¹.
The committee will continue its investigation into other critical sectors, including housing, education, and health, among others.
