Prince Kassim Afegbua, former Commissioner for Information in Edo state is a member of the 14–man State Assets Verification Committee set up by Governor Monday Okpebholo to probe the administration of his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki. In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he speaks on latest developments in the state, especially concerns of some loyalists of the former governor who have described the probe as a political witch-hunt. Excerpts:
Some loyalists of former Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki have condemned the ongoing probe by Governor Monday Okpebholo. They alleged that it is witch-hunt and also advised him to focus on governance. What is your take on that?
Under the law, is it a crime for a new government to probe an outgone government? They shouldn’t be afraid of anything if their hands are clean. Edo people deserve to know the status report of their state under Governor Obaseki for eight years. Making an inquiry into that government and seeking answers to the very questionable gaps is not a crime under the law in Nigeria. We will interrogate, dissect, analyse and we will look at issues that affects the growth and development of Edo state in the last eight years. We will also take an informed position based on what our findings are. They shouldn’t be in a hurry. They are just trying to distract us and calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it. We are used to those kind of strategies and we are not going to be persuaded by their propaganda. They should stop crying over the probe.
While giving account of his stewardship few days before handing over, the former governor said he has achieved a lot and he is leaving Edo state better than he met it. Do you agree with that?
He meant the opposite of what he said. He left the state worse compared to what he inherited from his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. What did he achieve? He appointed a Commissioner for Roads and Bridges but one single bridge was not built in 8 years. What do you call that? Less than 10 days that the APC government came in, the governor has flagged off the Ramat 450 metre overhead bridge. This was done in order to ease the persistent traffic in that axis. That is cheering news to the good people of Edo. You can imagine a bubbling city like Benin City, ancient for its status and modern in its outlook does not boast of a single overhead bridge anywhere. So, the people go through all kinds of stress trying to connect their different locations on a daily basis in order to pursue their different legitimate aspirations.
What the APC government of Governor Monday Okpebholo has achieved in the last 15 days is commendable to the point that we throw a challenge to Obaseki to come to Edo and walk on the streets and see things for himself. If you see what the governor has achieved in 15 days, you will think he has been in government for one year. He has commenced the construction of 450 metres road overhead bridge that is meant to solve the endemic problem of Ramat Park and Ikpoba Slope. He is going to do that of Dawson street and Sapele road. Even though there was a Commissioner for Road and Bridges in Obaseki’s government, they didn’t construct one single bridge in all their eight years in office. It is convenient for them to run commentary because talk is cheap but we are not going to be persuaded by their outlandish arguments, trying to blackmail us and saying that we should face governance. We don’t need Obaseki’s loyalists to tell us to face governance. We know that we have the mandate of the people of Edo to govern for the next four years and how we pursue that will resonate with our own manifesto and developmental agenda which we set out during our campaigns.
Are you saying the new governor within few days in office has surpassed Obaseki’s record?
Yes, what Okpebholo has achieved in 15 days, Obaseki couldn’t achieve in four years. He ran a government that took Edo debt profile from N43.5bn to N500bn in eight years. That is the 33 year-old history of Edo from 1991 till 2024. That is to say, all the debt we acquire from 1991 till 2016 when Obaseki came on board was N43bn but Obaseki took it to N500bn in eight years. In Nigeria today, we are number three in the hierarchy of states in debt under the Debt Management Office. Is that something to cheer about? So, we have a herculean task on our hands to see how we can recover the state from this kind of financial malfeasance.
When they keep running all these funny commentaries, it’s either due to sheer ignorance or deliberately plotting mischief in order to sell the wrong information to the undiscerning members of the public. But we are wiser and they must know that. I can tell you that members of the Assets Verification Committee are solid minds who have cognate experience to interrogate processes of governance and also take informed decision based on the findings in the course of executing the terms of reference that were handed over to us.
The Edo PDP has been making false claims about the new administration. The PDP is already a poisoned brand whether they like it or not. Even at the headquarters, they can’t even articulate issues of national importance. They are divided and quarrelling with themselves. Presently, they don’t have a substantive chairman. Everything about them is ‘acting this, acting that’. Even at the state level, it is acting. They can’t put their house in order yet they have the temerity to be accusing the governor of witch-hunt. I find this very ridiculous. We are not going to be distracted. Obaseki and his goons can cry from now till thy kingdom come. That won’t take our eyes off the ball. We are resolute in our determination to sit through this particular assignment and place the state on a stronger pedestal in terms of analysing and appreciating what the potentialities are and how to build on those opportunities to make life better for the ordinary Edo person. But if the outgone Obaseki government thinks the other way round is to sustain a discourse that is poisoned in his own essence, then we will give them what they require and that is transparent, accountable leadership.
Crusoe Osagie, Media Adviser to former Governor in a statement yesterday berated Governor Okpebholo for shutting down Edo State e-Governance platform and decision to revert state’s civil service operations back to paper files. He said the action showed the cluelessness of the present administration in the state and also presented it as unprepared for governance. What is your take on that?
They came up with the issue of e-governance but we just discovered that it is e-corruption. Whatever they want us to be doing, Obaseki will sit down somewhere and be using the backend code to be watching what is going on on his own e-governance platform. We are not kids and we know all these antics. Governor Okpebholo is a tech-savvy leader who has invested so much in that aspect as a private individual. He has ran companies that are successful in that tech area. So, I find it laughable when they said that we don’t understand the dynamics of e-governance platform. Let me end by saying that whether they like it or not, we will use all available to decode their e-corruption platform and see how we are able to make meaning out of all the concussions they put together in the name of e-governance. You deleted files and tried to hide certain details so that people can be confused, you destroyed the entire fabric of the civil service and now you are shouting that salaries have not been paid. You destroyed the civil service by putting grade level 13 and 14 officers as permanent secretaries. Where is that heard of? You are creating employment opportunities for your friends outside Edo state, non-natives are coming to dictate the flow of governance in Edo and yet, they said we should not talk. We are going to talk meaningfully and Edo people will get a full account of how Obaseki ran the state in the last eight years.
