The ex-governor dismissed a statement
credited to Oshiomhole that it took seven years for him (the governor)
to speak out on the purportedly illegalities perpetrated by him while in
office.
In a statement he personally signed in Abuja on Satuday, Igbinedion promised to expose his successor at the appropriate time.
The Edo State Government had on
Wednesday said it had begun moves to recover $31m allegedly
“fraudulently taken” from the government coffers, during Igbinedion’s
administration.
Oshiomhole also vowed to publish records
of fraud allegedly perpetrated by the ex-governor, adding that he would
forward all the files containing the alleged fraud to Abuja this week
for prosecution.
Oshiomhole had also accused the
ex-governor and his father, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, of allegedly
converting government properties and funds meant for the people of the
state to private use.
The governor had said his feud with the
Igbinedion family started when he revoked the over 200,000 hectares of
government land, which the former governor allegedly gave to his father
in Okada, as well as the termination of the Memorandum of Understanding
the ex-governor allegedly signed with his father.
The MoU, Oshiomhole alleged, was to
allow “the medical students in Igbinedion University to use our
state-owned hospital at the expense of the Edo State Government while
Chief Igbinedion collects N1m from each medical student.”
Igbinedion, however, said records of activities during his tenure were open to the public.
He said, “I have made it very clear time
without numbers that the files of my tenure are there for everybody who
cares to ask to check. I do not intend to dignify Adams Oshiomhole any
longer by joining issue with him.
“He should explain to the people of Edo
State how he spent the federal allocations and internal generated
revenues running into trillions naira in seven years.
“He should tell the people of Edo how
much he is paying as land tax for his house in Iyamho worth over N10bn
and other properties he has acquired in the last seven years in Dubai,
Cape Town in South Africa, in San Francisco, United States of America, a
high rise apartment in Atlanta also in America and in London. He is
calling everybody a thief but Oshiomhole is the biggest thief in Benin
City today.”
The ex-governor added that because
Oshiomhole had allegedly mismanaged the financial resources of the
state, which were entrusted in his care in the last seven years, and
currently receiving the hit from the people, the governor was looking
for ways to divert people’s attention.
Igbinedion added, “Oshiomhole has
failed; the people of Edo State now know him better. Oshiomhole is the
least qualified person to talk about corruption in the country today
because his actions and programmes in the last seven years in Edo State
epitomise corruption.
“He has called everybody in Nigeria a
thief; has called former President Olusegun Obasanjo a thief; called
former President Goodluck Jonathan a thief, he called (ex-Minister of
Finance, Ngozi) Okojo-Iweala a thief, and others. Yet, he cannot prove
his cases. I don’t think he knows the meaning of a thief.
“He lives in the glass house and
throwing stones. President Muhammadu Buhari will soon find out the real
Oshiomhole by the time we provide documents against him.”
Several calls made to the telephone of
Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Mr. Peter Okhiria, to
get boss’ reaction to Igbinedion’s allegations on Saturday were not
picked.
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