$10 Million: Obaseki Is A Portfolio Scam Artist – Okepbholo Tells PDP

Governor Monday Okpebholo-led government has said it would not fail to investigate how $10 million was used by former Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The Chief Press Secretary to Okpebholo, Fred Itua, said no amount of twist from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would make the government fail to probe the late approval of $10 million under Obaseki.

Naijaonpoint reported that Edo PDP Chairman, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement, stated that it was disappointing that the Okepbholo threatened to probe Obaseki’s administration over $10 million used to equip Observer Press.

In a statement on Wednesday, Itua said Nehikhare displayed ignorance and completely missed the point Governor Okpebholo raised.

He charged the PDP Chairman to refute their claim with facts and not fiction, stressing that the government would probe the former government’s use of the fund.

It read: “The Governor was referring to the $10 million that Godwin Obaseki budgeted for The Observer Newspaper shortly before the 2024 governorship elections in Edo State, not the refurbished equipment bought from ‘Ogbete Market’ in Enugu State.

“Obaseki, a portfolio scam artist, who presided over the looting of Edo’s commonwealth, hurriedly siphoned $10 million, using The Observer Newspaper as a conduit, barely a few days to the governorship election in Edo State in late 2024.

“Nehikhare’s desperate attempt to twist the conversation is not just misleading but exposes the habitual dishonesty of the PDP.

“On the issue of the so-called “sophisticated machines,” Nehikhare conveniently ignores the real concern—these overused and inefficient machines now require billions of naira to function properly. Obaseki may have procured them at a roadside market, but he left behind a financial burden that the present administration must now clean up.

“More troubling is Nehikhare’s confused outrage about the sacking of Observer staff. How does he expect those no longer employed to be available at the premises? His logic is as flawed as the policies of the administration he blindly defends.

“Instead of this laughable attempt at deflection, Nehikhare should explain why, in his final days, Obaseki found it necessary to allocate a staggering $10 million to a State-owned newspaper that is practically invisible on newspaper stands across the State and country—at a time when critical sectors like education and healthcare remained underfunded.

“If Nehikhare wishes to debate the facts, he should do so with accuracy, not fiction. But then again, fiction seems to be the PDP’s favourite tool.”