Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State and current senator for Edo North, has endorsed the Edo State House of Assembly’s decision to suspend the 18 local government chairmen and their deputies.
Oshiomhole told reporters at his home in Iyamho, Estako West Local Government Area, that the council chairmen engaged in financial malpractice and gave large quantities of money to Godwin Obaseki, the immediate former governor.
Oshiomhole said, “People already know that there is a new sheriff in town. He is stopping all the bad guys and stopping the bleeding that Edo was going through.
“It is not a secret that Local Government Councils were paying huge amounts of money to his predecessor, and he says, ‘stop,’ not while I am here. We want the money to be used to develop the localities.”
On December 17, 2024, the Edo State House of Assembly suspended all 18 local government chairmen and their deputies for a period of two months due to allegations of gross misconduct and insubordination. The suspension came after Governor Monday Okpebholo filed a petition accusing the council executives of neglecting to provide the state government with the financial account statements of their local governments.
In a similar incident, Governor Okpebholo’s chief press secretary, Fred Itua, praised the governor’s performance in his first month in office in a statement released on Friday. Oshiomhole had expressed pleasure with Okpebholo’s practical approach to government, according to the statement circulated in Benin City.
The former governor observed that Edo residents could now “experience true and practical governance after eight years of Obaseki’s rhetoric and MOUs.”
