Former Edo State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Osilama Okuofu, has alleged that ex-Governor Adams Oshiomhole is still nursing a grudge against his successor, Godwin Obaseki, over his removal as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okuofu made this assertion during an interview on Arise TV, where he criticized the Edo State Assets Verification Committee’s report on the state's debt profile.
His words; "Whether anybody wants to accept it or not, Governor Oshiomhole actually has a whole lot of influence in the way the current government in the state is being run. And his rift, which is known, with Obaseki when they were both in the APC, that led to Oshiomhole being removed as chairman, national chairman of the party, he still has not forgiven Governor Obaseki. So this is more like a vendetta, and it's not going to blow him or even the state any good wind."
The committee, which was set up by Governor Nyesom Mundo, claimed that Obaseki’s administration left behind a staggering debt of ₦682.5 billion, a 900% increase from the ₦48 billion inherited from Oshiomhole in 2016.
However, Okuofu dismissed the figures, stating that official data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) puts the state’s domestic debt at ₦98 billion and foreign debt at ₦282 billion as of September 2024, totaling about ₦400 billion.
He accused the new administration of using the debt report as a political weapon against Obaseki, insisting that governance should be a continuum. According to Okuofu, Obaseki did not borrow any additional foreign loans during his tenure, and the rising foreign debt was due to the naira’s depreciation rather than fresh borrowings.
The former commissioner also alleged that Oshiomhole, who remains an influential figure in Edo politics, has a hand in the committee’s report, using it as a tool for political vendetta against Obaseki. He argued that Oshiomhole has not forgiven his successor for the role he played in his removal as APC National Chairman in 2020.
Watch interview below from 9:21 timestamp:
https://youtu.be/25quhP5x8GM?si=xIQzBGI0_JBfIDI9
