Edo 2024: Group Petition EFCC, Accuses LGAs Of Allegedly Funding Ighodalo’s Campaign
By Rosemary Okoduwa
A pressure group, Edo People’s Advocacy Organisation of Nigeria has accused the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration of funding the Asue Ighodalo election campaign with local government area funds and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to do a forensic audit of the councils’ finances to unravel the alleged fraud.
In a petition to the Benin Zonal Office of the EFCC which was signed by Comrade Agbogun Monday as Coordinator and Odeh Johnson as Secretary who were at the office and were received by the Head, Public Affairs Benin Zonal Office of EFCC, Williams Oseghale who reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to zero tolerance to corruption and promised that the petition would be handled professionally.
The group said “While other states’ local governments councils across the country are carrying out developmental projects, Edo State Councils are allegedly busy using public funds to continue the third term bid of Emperor Obaseki by funding the Asue Ighodalo Campaign in disguise.
“We hereby demand that the EFCC carry out a forensic audit of our eighteen local government areas in Edo State all in a bid to recover looted and diverted funds.
“That the council chairmen be invited to show record of the last four months expenditure immediately so as to recover looted fund channeled for funding Obaseki’s third term bid”
Reacting to the allegations,the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Hon Monday Osaigbovo debunked the allegations saying the LGAs chairmen were battling to pay the new minimum wage and could not have been diverting public funds for political campaigns.
According to him, the local government total salaries used to be a little above N1 billion but now it is over N1.4 billion.