According to the Nigerian Tribune, Edo State lawyers have voiced their reservations about Governor Godwin Obaseki’s appointment of a new accountant general through the Network of Edo Lawyers.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
They have called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze the account of the Edo State Government, alleging that the move was part of an effort to facilitate the withdrawal of significant public funds ahead of the governor’s departure from office.
The lawyers, led by Julius Ilenkhe, issued a statement accusing Obaseki of using the appointment of a new Accountant-General to access the remaining resources in the state’s bank accounts.
He stated, “Obaseki has also gone to collect all Edo State resources from agencies of government especially the revenue generating bodies in a last-minute looting spree.
“These monies belong to Edo state and not Obaseki. He tried to use supplementary budget, which the Speaker of Edo state turned down.
“Now he wants to clear the state accounts in all the banks by appointing a new Accountant General, since the former Accountant General was cooling off with EFCC over suspicious withdrawal of over N14 billion last week.”
The legal practitioners expressed frustration with the governor’s actions, accusing him of abusing his office for personal gain. They called for collective action to prevent further misuse of state resources, warning that one person’s greed could not be allowed to destroy the state.
Ilenkhe also criticized Obaseki’s lack of expenditure on transition processes, stating that the governor had no legitimate reason for withdrawing such large sums of money, other than personal enrichment.
The lawyers urged all security agencies, as well as the people of Edo State and Nigeria, to join forces in stopping what they described as an arbitrary looting of public funds.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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