The Edo State Government has accused former Governor Godwin Obaseki of leaving behind over ₦178 billion in unpaid debts to road contractors.
The allegation was made by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, during a media briefing on Tuesday in Benin City to mark Governor Monday Okpebholo’s one year in office.
Afegbua said the state’s current administration discovered the huge debt after a thorough review of contracts and project records.
He claimed that many contractors had been directed by the former governor to finance road projects through loans, with assurances of repayment that never materialized.
“Contractors were instructed to go and source for funds, execute the projects, and that the government would pay later.
Unfortunately, no proper financial arrangement was made for such payments,” Afegbua said. “As we speak, the total debt profile owed to road contractors is over ₦178 billion.”
He added that the Okpebholo administration inherited several abandoned or incomplete road projects as a result of these unpaid obligations.
The commissioner said the government is now working on a verification process to determine the authenticity of claims and prioritize genuine contractors for payment.
However, reacting to the allegation, Crusoe Osagie, media aide to former Governor Obaseki, denied the claims in a video call with journalists.
Osagie described the statement as “a baseless attempt to discredit the achievements of the previous administration,” insisting that Obaseki’s government maintained fiscal discipline and executed projects within budgetary provisions.
“The records are there for anyone to verify,” he said. “Governor Obaseki ran a transparent government and did not leave behind any debt of that magnitude. These claims are purely political and aimed at rewriting history.”
The development has further heightened political tensions in the state as both camps continue to trade words over the financial status and project legacy of the past administration.
