A petition signed by civil rights activists, Bishop Dr. Osadolor Ochie and
Marxist Kola Edokpayi has been addressed to the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the immediate past governor of Edo
state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of defrauding the State to the tune of
over N50 billion while in office as governor.
According to the petitioners, who also forwarded copies of the petition to
the president, Mohammadu Buhari and the senate president, Bukola Saraki,
they said 80% of contracts executed during the Oshiomhole administration
were never advertised.
“Throughout Oshiomhole’s tenure, over 80% of contracts that were awarded
were never advertised or made public, and the costs were inflated.
The scheme used was called “virement,” and this approach allowed the
governor to approve new contracts as additional work to the tune of N99
million without advertising such contracts or seeking the approval of the
state executive council,” the petitioners alleged.
The former governor was also alleged to have used N5 billion for chartered
flights during his time as governor of the state.
The petitioners added that, Adams Oshiomhole engaged in contract
splitting, where contracts for roads were awarded along with road
infrastructures such as street lights, walk ways, drainage which were
later re-awarded to the same contractor.
“Contract splitting amounting to N76,390,306,746 was awarded to Messrs
Hani Associates Ltd. for the preparation of the bill of quantities for
construction and renovation of public schools (dates of approvals of
payment 21/01/2016, 20/10/2016, 18/10/2016, and 25/10/2016),” the petition
stated.
He is also being accused of diverting funds for security votes running
into billions of naira.
“Diversion of security votes to proxy accounts vis: Chief M. A. Kadiri
vouchers from 2008 to the last day of the tenure of Comrade Adams Aliu
Oshiomhole, totalling N42 billion.
Also, in December 2014 alone, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole approved
N700million and Chief M. A. Kadiri was on hand to sign and collect it via
attached vouchers and detailed documents,” according to the petitioners.
The petitioners further alleged that the former governor inflated the
price of the purchase of 2 units of Toyota Prado TXL at N28,953,600.00.
“ Sata Motors Ltd., 3 Oyaide Street, GRA, Benin city, purchase of 2 units
of Toyota Land Cruisers V8 at N45,031,200.”
They added, “We have at our disposal a truck load of approvals and
vouchers if the one supplied is not enough for your investigation and we
are prepared to supply more photographs of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s
properties all over the world and relevant vouchers and approvals that he
made while in office to misappropriate Edo State funds, particularly for
the Edo University whose funds were not approved by the Edo State House of
Assembly.
“Another issue of concern is the construction of 168 male students’ hostel
complex at the rate of N10 million per room at the University of Science
and Technology, Uzaire awarded to Messrs A & K Construction Ltd. at a
total cost of N1,880,483,836.66.”
Comrade Oshiomhole was also alleged by the petitioners to have used state
fund for an on-going event centre, cinema theatre hall and shopping mall
at finishing stage directly opposite the University of Benin, Ugbowo,
Benin city.
They also alleged that Comrade Oshiomhole expended N20 billion on personal
mansion at Okoro Otun and an on-going hotel being constructed next to
Benin Club in GRA.
More allegations leveled against the former governor, according to the
petition iclude;
Former Guinness Building on Reservation Road, GRA, Benin city
Our investigation shows that Oshiomhole bought the Guinness guest house
located along Reservation Road, GRA Benin City soon after he was sworn in
as governor in 2009.
The property was quickly converted to the office of HANI and ASSOCIATES,
the consultancy firm that has supervised all civil construction works in
Edo State since 2008.
We are reliably informed that Governor Adams Aliu Oshiomhole bought the
building for over N100 million.
Offshore Properties (USA, South Africa, London and Dubai)
With the benefit of the global fight against corruption, the EFCC should
investigate allegations of Oshiomhole’s acquisition of properties in the
United States of America; which are located in Miami, Florida and in
Louisiana (where his first son, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole stays); as well as a
luxurious apartment valued at one hundred million dollars at Peachtree
Corners (Miami) FL; acquisition of the Penthouse of One and Only Hotel in
Cape Town, South Africa, as well as apartments in Dubai, and London (UK).
Misappropriation of Local Government funds
Governor Adams Oshiomhole administration took advantage of the Joint
State/Local Government Account to appropriate and misappropriate the
monthly allocations accrued to the 18 local councils to the disadvantages
of the chairmen and people of the local governments.
The helpless chairmen could not complain openly because their election or
appointment and tenure are at the mercy and discretion of the Comrade
Governor.
The irony of this prevailing arrangement is that the local government
council chairmen were cajoled to take responsibility for the expenditures
they never made, in the first place; like the purchase of inflated SUVs.
The Commissioner for Finance and that of Local Government deducted their
accounts at source.
This sort of irresponsible and unnecessary expenditure, which is prevalent
in the administration of the local government councils in Edo State, led
to the inability of councils to pay the salaries of their staffs until the
bailout offered by the Federal Government.
It will interest you to know that the 18 local government areas in Edo
State have in the last 6 years received over N212 billion as statutory
allocation.
We believe these breaches deserve investigation.
Supply of School Desks and Chairs
The state government, through the Ministry of Education awarded a contract
in November 2009, worth N1,547,910,000.00 (One Billion, Five Hundred and
Forty-Seven Million, Nine Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira only), to Itex
Furniture Limited of Plot 512, Cadastral Zone C16, Idu Industrial
District, FCT, Abuja, for the supply of 35,000 units of single seaters
(chairs and desks) and 40,000 units of double seaters (chairs and desks)
to all public schools in Edo State.
The contract was purportedly “completed” and a completion certificate
issued for full payment for the job, which only a middle-level staff of
the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) inspected at the Abuja
factory of Itex Furniture Limited in 2011 (two years after the contract
was awarded).
Due diligence was not made to verify whether the advance payment
guarantee/performance bond provided by Itex were ever authenticated or the
quality and quantity of 75,000 units verified too, before the full payment
for this supply of this school furniture in 2012.
On Friday, April 4, 2014 (two years after the purported supply of 75,000
units by Itex Furniture Limited), the state‘s Ministry of Education placed
an advert on page 16 of the Vanguard newspaper, requesting for bids, for
the “construction and supply of schools desks and chairs for all Schools
in Edo state”.
Sources in the Ministry averred that the advert was a mere window-dressing
as the advertised contract had been awarded to the same Itex Furniture.
No due diligence was made to find out whether the initial 75,000 units
were manufactured and supplied. The contracts eventually snowballed into
paid advertorial contest between ITEX and the state government.
However, most schools in Edo State have no chairs and desk.
It is instructive to state here that the pioneer chairman of the State
Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) under Oshiomhole’s administration,
Sir Emoabino and a former Secretary to the State Government to Gov. Adams
Oshiomhole, Dr. Imuokheme, were arrested and tried by EFCC for fraud
totaling N300million.
The Subeb contractors were criminally directed to pay part of their
payments proceeds to Oshiomhole’s campaign account in 2011.
N1.172Billion Certificate of Occupancy Waiver/Dangote Cement shares
On June 1, 2013, Governor Oshiomhole granted Alhaji Aliko Dangote a
staggering N1,089,530,370.00 (One Billion, Eighty Nine Million, Five
Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Naira) waiver for a
Certificate of Occupancy.
Also on the same day, another waiver of N81,763,200.00 (Eighty-One
Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty Three thousand, Two Hundred Naira) to
Alhaji Dangote, all for the land allocated to the billionaire for a
proposed Dangote Fertilizer Factory at Agenebode in Etsako East Local
Government Area.
The so called factory never saw the light of the day.
Conversion of Edo University to Privately-Owned Insitution
Oshiomhole has spent over N30 billion of state funds on infrastructure in
the Edo University he built opposite his country home in Iyamho, which
documents have revealed is a privately owned university by private
partners, fronting for the governor.
Sapele Road N600 Million Street Light Cotract
In 2012, Governor Oshiomhole awarded the contract for erection of street
lights from 3rdJunction (Sapele Road) to Country Home Road Junction
(Sapele Road), a distance of less than 2KM for N600 million.
Sadly, this work was never executed.
The N950 Million Contract for the Beautification of 5-Junction in Uselu,
Lagos Road
The sum of N950million was approved by the exco as cost for the
beautification project, which was just planting of flowers.
Edo State Government and the Bank of Industry Counterpart Fund Scheme
In December 2009, Edo State Government signed an agreement with the Bank
of Industry to support Small Scale Industries with N500 million; made up
of N250 million from the state and N250 million from the Bank of Industry.
According to Edo State government records, only N41.6 million was
reportedly disbursed.
However, credible sources informed us that the balance of N458.5 million
(approximately) has vanished into private pockets.
$225 Million World Bank Loan and Edo State Open Governmnt Initiative
In 2012, Edo State Government received $75 million as first tranche of
$225 million loan from the World Bank under the first Edo State Growth and
Employment Support Credit Project (with the Project Identification Number
P123353).
Till date, government is unable to account for the initial $75 million and
another $75 million that was approved by the World Bank in 2015, despite
massive protests by Edo people and senators from the state.
We are informed that the unsubstantiated contracts that were tied to the
loan led to the resignation of Ms. Yemi Keri who was the Managing Director
of the Information Communication Technology office in the Governor’s
Office.
The computerization of government activities by the Directorate of ICT in
the Governor’s Office was used to syphon resources from the state.
The second tranche of $75 million which was domiciled at Access Bank has
largely been transferred to offshore accounts while the remaining was
round-tripped at the detriment of Edo state.
Accident and Emergency/200 Bed Central Hospital and Iyamho Country Home
Projects
An initial contract was awarded to an Italian company, for the sum of N2.7
billion before it was reviewed upwards to over N3 billion when Governor
Oshiomhole demanded for an extra floor; a process that made a large part
of the construction within the premises of the Central Hospital, Benin
City, to collapse on June 4, 2012.
Many workers were injured with a lone casualty, Dr. Stefano De La Roca,
the owner of the company and confidant of Adams Oshiomhole.
The contract was later re-awarded to SCL without penalizing those
responsible for the building collapse. The cost of the reconstruction is a
closely guarded secret.
What many did not know at the period was that SCI was also the contractor
handling Oshiomhole’s multi-billion naira sprawling palatial complex at
Iyamho, Etsako West Local Government Area.
The umbilical cord or nexus between the medical complex projects in Benin
City and the astonishing Mobutu Sese Seko country home project of the
Comrade Governor is far more than a coincidence as SCI was the main
contractor for both sites and most, if not all, of the construction
materials and workers shared a common pool.
Roads, Drains and Bridges
The flagship of road construction, re-construction and rehabilitation
projects done by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is the six-lane Airport Road,
Benin City.
The contract was originally awarded to Servetek Construction Company
Limited to handle the “construction of drainage structures and dualization
of Airport Road from Ring Road to Ogba River Bridge (a distance of 7.2Km
of road and 14.4Km of drainage” at an industry record-setting N611million
per kilometers, totaling N4,401,101,722.50).

In a fit of anger over Servetek’s reluctance to allow any further
tampering with the contractual sum, the contract was truncated and
re-awarded at over N12 billion to Setraco Nigeria Limited.
It is instructive to note that the state government ingeniously padded the
original contract description with “17 access roads” that ran parallel to
Airport Road whereas these roads (access and internal roads such as the
Shittu Alao Airforce Base, Oko-Ogba for instance), were re-awarded as
stand-alone ones, with new cost tags.
This organized rape of Edo State treasury was replicated in the award and
execution of the over 100 intra and inter-city road projects that were
turned into veritable Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
One of such roads is Sapele Raod, awarded to Setraco for N
1,429,446,044.25 for a length of 2.1km.
Even the “detailed design of storm water drainage and associated roads
master plan for Benin City was awarded to a South African Firm for a
whopping sum of N 446,969,250.02.
The pattern of sleaze ran through all the contracts he awarded and
financed through suffocating portfolio of debts that future generations of
Edolites will inherit and pay.
Setraco and Hartland Nig Ltd both companies chaired by Abu Inu Umoru, a
close associate of Adams Oshiomhole are the major beneficiaries of
inflated road contracts in Edo State.
The N31Billion Storm Water Project
On April 11, 2011, Governor Adams Oshiomhole went ahead to borrow N25
billion from the capital market through the issuance of bonds.
While presenting an FCMB cheque of N6 billion to Mr. Saad, the managing
director of Hitech Construction on March 2, 2011, Oshiomhole listed
several roads as part of the First Phase of the Storm Water Project to
include Adolor College Road, Textile Mile Road, Otote Road, Uwelu Road,
Akugbe Street, Iyoba areas among others.
These roads are still earth roads today; just the Storm water project has
been abandoned by Hitech and the gullies they left have killed over six
persons, including children.
We are also aware that when Adams Oshiomhole went to the capital market to
borrow 25 billion facilitated by Godwin Obaseki’s Afrivest company, the
purpose of the loan was not just the storm water project but also included
a power project.
The Azural Power Project has since started in Edo State but without the
government being a major investor apart from the paltry shares given to it
by the promoters as compensation for the land acquired.
Curiously, Philip Ihenacho the original founder of Afrivest, the same
company Godwin Obaseki, Oshiomhole’s close ally owns, is a major investor
in the Azura Power Project.
Edo people believe that they have been shortchanged in this Azura
Holdings, and what should have been Edo State shares have been allocated
to private individuals holding brief for those who have abused the
people’s trust.
Ewohimi General Hospital Project
Construction of Ewohimi General Hospital in Edo Central has gulped over an
additional N200 million through the bogus practice of ‘virement’.
Oshiomhole’s brother in-law, Mr. Victor Eboigbe, allegedly coordinated the
hospital project.
His company was also reported in the press to have supplied Dando water
drilling rigs and two street sweepers to Edo State government for inflated
contract sums of N800 million and N356 million respectively.
Construction of Hostel Block at N10M Per Room at Iyamho University
Governor Oshiomhole awarded the contract and the payment in a week for the
construction of 168 hotel rooms in Edo University Iyamho at the sum of
N1.680 billion (one billion, six hundred and eighty million naira).
The average cost per room translates to N10 million (ten million naira)
per hostel room.
The firm, A & K Construction Limited was also awarded additional contract
worth N12,282,852,413.69 (twelve billion, two hundred and eighty two
million, eight hundred and fifty thousand, four hundred and thirteen
naira, sixty kobo) to construct Edo State Teaching Hospital at the
University of Science and Technology, Uzairue, Edo State (Iyamho
University).

How much be the total budget for the eight years

Am not saying he's a saint

We have to stop this speculation

Nigeria is sick

Na lie go kill una, edo state tell una say e even get 50billion naira

hes saint

sarrki:
How much be the total budget for the eight years

Am not saying he's a saint

We have to stop this speculation

did u ask urself for once when the accused Jonathan of stealing $20b from the economy yearly, how much is our budget sef?

sarrki:
How much be the total budget for the eight years

Am not saying he's a saint

We have to stop this speculation

Forget budget, this man looted 18 local government funds on a daily basis without remitting a dime to government coffers.

My problem is the long epistle self. In summary, he be thief abi?

I have not seen or heard any apc members accused of corruption undergo trial and detention like the opposition.Osoimole's case will not be different.

sarrki:
How much be the total budget for the eight years

Am not saying he's a saint

We have to stop this speculation

so na only budget money state dey get? how about d internal generated revenue n d likes

sarrki:
How much be the total budget for the eight years

Am not saying he's a saint

We have to stop this speculation

How much did he borrow few months to the termination of his tenure?
Hope you remember the 75 billion .................
Imagine how much he has borrowed within the lifetime of his regime.....

this anti corruption war is one sidedl,come to Apc and your sins forgiven

sarrki:
How much be the total budget for the eight years

Am not saying he's a saint

We have to stop this speculation

wht are u tryin to say?

50billion, make una small small they call this money

ufuosman:
50billion, make una small small they call this money

The money looks big, but there is nothing greed cannot do. If an individual can be accused of padding a budget with 40billion in a single year, another individual can also loot 50billon in the space of eight years.

We are humans and greed is inevitable sometimes. You have to fear political leaders.

kelvinreality:


The money looks big, but there is nothing greed cannot do. If an individual can be accused of padding a budget with 40billion in a single year, another individual can also loot 50billon in the space of eight years.

We are humans and greed is inevitable sometimes. You have to fear political leaders.

you are right bro

I keep telling people that Oshiomole did more harm than Lucky in terms of embezzlement, crime rate, Thugs empowerment, downgrade educational quality, contract inflation and High debt profile.

He deceived people with his brilliant talks and always attacking PDP 8 years regime to cover any of his wrong doing during his tenure. Just like the way Buhari and Co are doing right now.

Some of the amounts said to be stolen are higher than the budget. This applies to suspected PDP and APC thieves.

How can a state have a budget of 100 naira and the Governor would steal 500 naira?

NextGovernor:
I keep telling people that Oshiomole did more harm than Lucky in terms of embezzlement, crime rate, Thugs empowerment, downgrade educational quality, contract inflation and High debt profile.

He deceived people with his brilliant talks and always attacking PDP 8 years regime to cover any of his wrong doing during his tenure. Just like the way Buhari and Co are doing right now.

May God treat your life the way Lucky Igbinedion and Family treated Edo State.Please if you want to be taken seriously in any of your comments don't put igbinedion and Oshiomole in the same sentence,it is an insult to any well educated Edo Man.

Of course he waves the broom; he's innocent.

The work oshomole did in Edo state was superb.. No gov. has ever done what he did for Edo people...

only the dead party supporters( PDP) would say he stole such amount..