Former Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has lambasted his successor, Governor Monday Okpebholo, over allegations that his administration left behind a debt of N600 billion.

DAILY POST recalls that the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, at a media briefing to mark Okpebholo’s one year in office, said more than N178 billion was owed to road contractors.

Afegbua alleged that Obaseki was instructing contractors to obtain loans and work without provisions for payment.

In a swift response, however, Crusoe Osagie, media aide to Obaseki, denied the allegation, stating that such false narratives were among the reasons countries like the United States view Nigeria as unsafe, even threatening military intervention.

“I think it has become important for us to underscore the dangers in some of these irresponsible comments that they are making. Nigeria, we can say safely, is currently facing an existential threat.

“The head of the government of another nation has declared our government an irresponsible, shameful, and disgraced government.

“So, when comments like this begin to come out of a state like Edo, also governed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), it gives credence to the attitude that we are receiving from foreign nations.

“Nigeria has a Debt Management Office in Abuja. There is no government that has the power, at whatever level, local, state, or federal, to draw loans or enter into any debt arrangement without the knowledge and approval of the Debt Management Office.

“Can you kindly ask: is the N600 billion he is speaking about recorded in the Debt Management Office?

“If Obaseki took such loans or had such indebtedness, at least you would find it in the DMO.

“So he just comes out and spews lies and makes this statement, giving the impression that the state is being governed by touts,” he said.

‘Not true’ – Obaseki lampoons Okpebholo over alleged N600bn debt, others