Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has strongly condemned the Asset Verification Committee’s report released by the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led administration, describing it as a deliberate attempt to distort facts and tarnish the reputation of his government.
Speaking through his media adviser, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement obtained by Naijaonpoint on February 5, 2025, Obaseki described the report as a politically driven smear campaign aimed at misleading the public.
According to Osagie, all assets and transactions under the Obaseki administration were meticulously documented in the Transition Committee Report, which was officially handed over to the Okpebholo-led government before they assumed office.
He expressed concern that, despite having access to these records, the committee chose to manipulate data to suit a predetermined narrative.
“It has come to our notice that the Asset Verification Committee set up by the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led government has completed its report and handed same to the State Government today and through media sources, we have been able to decipher some of the points raised in the report, all of which have revealed that the committee was only a witch-hunt set up with an agenda to deliberately falsify facts and malign the good image of the immediate past government of His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
“Every asset and transaction that was carried out during the Obaseki administration is contained, with detailed explanations and data, in the Transition Committee Report, which was put together by the Obaseki government and handed over to the Okpebholo-led administration just before they took over office.
“It is therefore disturbing to find that, despite having the facts and data concerning everything the committee set out to verify in this transition document, they have still gone ahead to falsify the facts to malign the image of Obaseki and misinform the public.
“We are therefore calling on the public to disregard these lies and kindly refer to the Transition Report, which is now a public document and can be accessed at: https://www.godwinobaseki.com/embed-pdf/edo-state-government-2024-transition-committee-report,” the statement partly read.
Osagie further advised Edo residents and Nigerians to review the document, verify any claims, and, if necessary, invoke the Freedom of Information Act to obtain supporting government records.
“All Edo people, and indeed all Nigerians, need to do is go into this report, trace any transaction being discussed, and find all the details therein. They can then approach the government through the Freedom of Information Act to request relevant documents related to what is stated in the Transition Report,” the statement added.
Obaseki’s camp criticized the current administration for prioritizing misleading narratives over governance, stating, “It is more productive for a government to deal with facts rather than contrived data and since the primary responsibility of any government is to serve the people and improve their lives, it is these facts and verified data that will help drive meaningful progress and prosperity, not fiction or contrived data.
“We, therefore, urge Senator Monday Okpebholo and his administration to focus on the facts and verified data, and stop spreading falsehoods and telling unintelligent lies in a desperate attempt to achieve their selfish interests.”