According to the Nigerian Tribune, the president of the Edo State Market Women’s Association (ESMWA), Madam Blacky Ogiamen, has denied accepting two hundred million naira in 2013 from the administration of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the former governor of Edo State.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
In response to the allegations, Ogiamen said that they were baseless and an attempt to tarnish her image. Oshiomhole recently made statements at a political gathering that sparked the dispute; in those remarks, he claimed that Ogiamen had received the money on behalf of the state’s market women. The goal of the N100 million interest-free, non-refundable grant that was announced in 2013 by Oshiomhole’s administration was to help market women in Edo State increase their trade and assist the local economy.
Oshiomhole praised the market ladies for their contributions to maintaining democracy and good government, and the gesture received a lot of media attention. The previous governor, however, has allegedly subsequently exaggerated the amount and accused her of mishandling the funds, as stated by Ogiamen. According to what Ogiamen disclosed, Oshiomhole openly accused her of accepting N200 million on behalf of the association during a recent APC gathering in Benin.
Claiming that the N100 million grant in 2013 was the sole money ever handed to the association by Oshiomhole’s administration, she insisted that it was fairly distributed among the market women present at the association’s end-of-year celebration. She vehemently denied these assertions. Oshiomhole allegedly implicated Ogiamen in the arson of a portion of the Benin City market, but she refuted the accusation when speaking to reporters at the Ekiosa Market. The accusers were trying to smear her reputation for political gain, she said, and she had nothing to do with the incident.
Ogiamen vented her anger at Oshiomhole’s claims while flanked by ESMWA members from all three of Edo State’s senatorial districts. She said the ex-governor intentionally disseminated lies against her to bring shame on the group and the town at large. Despite his attempts to smear her reputation on political grounds, she insisted that she had neither burned a market nor ordered someone to do so. Even less than two hundred million Naira, he never even handed me any association funds. In my case, he lied.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
