$31m fraud: Edo PDP defends Igbinedion

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday described the plan by the Edo State Government to probe the administration of a former governor of the state, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, over an alleged $31m fraud, as political witch-hunt.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion, had on Wednesday told journalists shortly after the State Executive Council meeting that the state government had resolved to institute a legal action in order to recover the said amount, which it claimed, was fraudulently taken from the state’s coffers by the Igbinedion administration.

The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, who spoke while briefing journalists in Benin, the state capital, said that the state government’s move was a clear sign of political desperation and persecution of the former governor, rather than addressing the numerous challenges facing the state.

He said that despite the billions of naira expended on the storm water project, flooding was on the increase in the state, in addition to the dilapidated state of roads in different parts of the state.