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The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lambasted the Monday Okpebholo-led administration over what it described as an endless and “desperate smear campaign” against the immediate past governor of the state, Mr Godwin Obaseki.
This is as former Media Adviser to Obaseki, Crusoe Osagie, accused the Okpebholo administration of sustaining attacks on investments located in Benin-speaking Edo South, with the most recent onslaught directed at the Radisson Hotel Project.
In separate statements issued at the weekend, the Edo PDP and Osagie described comments credited to the Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, as misleading, defamatory and deliberately calculated to distract Edo residents from what they described as the government’s lack of a coherent development agenda.
The PDP, in a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, said the Okpebholo administration had, since assuming office, embarked on a deliberate pattern of targeting and undermining major legacy projects initiated under Obaseki’s tenure.
According to the party, projects already subjected to what it termed “reckless onslaught” include the ₦30 billion Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), the 95-megawatt Ossiomo Power Project, Saro Farms and the ethanol investment in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, the Edo Printing Press at the Nigerian Observer premises, and Presco Plc.
The PDP said, “This administration’s obsession with Obaseki has become pathological. Since assuming office, the Okpebholo government has operated in blind rage, determined to dismantle and demonise Obaseki’s legacy projects, not because they failed, but precisely because they succeeded and set standards this government neither understands nor can replicate.”
The party added that the Radisson Hotel project had now become, “the latest victim of this government’s politics of destruction.
“This pattern is neither accidental nor coincidental. It is the conduct of a government without ideas, without vision and without a basic grasp of modern governance.”
“Unable to conceive, design or execute development projects, they resort to tearing down investments they neither initiated nor understand.”
Addressing allegations surrounding the Radisson Hotel project, the PDP said claims of impropriety were rooted in ignorance of modern development finance.
“Kassim Afegbua’s statement on the Radisson Hotel project is a cocktail of ignorance and mischief,” the party stated.
“Public-Private Partnerships, Special Purpose Vehicles, equity contributions and project-finance loans are not crimes. They are the language of modern infrastructure development across the world.”
Osa-Ogbegie noted, “Edo State’s ₦2 billion contribution was seed equity injected to attract credible private investors.
“Other funds referenced by the government were deployed strictly as loans to the project’s Special Purpose Vehicle, with clear asset-backed repayment obligations tied to future operations. This is not plunder. This is development finance.”
The PDP further stated that the state’s investment had already appreciated substantially, noting, “Even before commencement of operations, Edo State’s investment in the Radisson project had appreciated significantly, conservatively valued at over ₦65 billion, with further upside expected once operations begin."
Osa-Ogbegie dismissed claims that the project was sold cheaply or transferred to cronies, adding that, “At no point did Mr Godwin Obaseki have any direct or indirect ownership interest in the hotel.”
“The insinuation that the project was ‘sold for peanuts’ is false, malicious and defamatory.”
In his separate statement, Crusoe Osagie accused the Okpebholo administration of deliberately stalling high-impact investments capable of driving employment and economic growth.
“This charade has become a predictable pattern deployed by this government to distract Edo people from the obvious fact that it has no development plan,” Osagie said.
He said the Radisson Hotel project was part of a broader tourism development strategy, noting that, “The Radisson Hotel was conceived as part of a larger tourism ecosystem that included MOWAA, the Benin Royal Museum, support for the National Museum at Ring Road and complementary hospitality infrastructure.”
Osagie explained that after the initial government investment, the project was transferred to a private investor at a significantly higher valuation.
“The project was passed on to a private investor at a value multiple times higher than what the Edo State Government invested,” he said.
“The investor took over the full assets and liabilities, while Edo State retained 20 per cent equity in the business.”
He warned that, “These investments were designed to directly and indirectly absorb not less than 50,000 employees. By stalling them through propaganda and media trials, this government is destroying jobs and discouraging investors.”
Both the PDP and Osagie urged Edo residents to look beyond what they described as propaganda.
“Edo people must ask a simple question. How does chasing away investors, dragging projects before the EFCC and the courts, and dismantling viable investments translate into jobs, growth and improved living standards for our people?,” the PDP said.
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