Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has received the report of the Administrative Panel of Enquiry set up on the 18th of December, 2024 to investigate the financial dealings of the impeached 18 Local Government Chairmen in Edo State from 4th September, 2023 to November, 2024 and has vowed to petition the EFCC over its findings.

The administrative panel of inquiry set up by the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo to investigate the financial accounts of the impeached 18 Local Government Chairmen in the state between September 4, 2023 and November, 2024 has allegedly indicted the immediate past Governor of the State, Godwin Obaseki.

1st Class News reports that a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday by Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor also allegedly indicted some local government chairmen, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, among others.

The chairman of the panel, Solomon Imohiosen while submitting the report to Governor Monday Okpebholo, alleged that they were indicted for either mismanaging and/or diverting to private accounts, the sum of N95,080,676,687.86, being amount received from the Joint Allocation Account Committee, JAAC, by the 18 Local Government Area Chairmen for the period under review.

Imohiosen listed some of the indicted persons to include the embattled chairman of Orhionmwon Local Government, Newman Ugiagbe who is also the State chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON.

Others are Ahonsi Ogiegbaen Osifo, Eric Agbonmwanre, Abraham Burma and Dickson Imasogie Notiemwenmwan.

He alleged that the ALGON chairman used his hotel, the Demarriots Hotels Limited in collusion with others to loot Local Government funds.

He further alleged that findings and forensic investigations uncovered that the ₦96 billion was either mismanaged and/or diverted to private accounts.

According to him, the panel observed that ₦95,080,676,687.86 was received from the Joint Allocation Account Committee, JAAC, by the 18 Local Government Area Chairmen for the period under investigation. However, the funds were not judiciously utilized as no meaningful projects were on the ground to justify the amount received.

The panel reportedly confirmed fraudulent diversion of Local Government funds to political godfathers in the State, alleging that over ₦10 billion was fraudulently siphoned, using the psudo name, “Security, Environment and Training.

The report is said to claim that the 18 Local Government Area Chairmen contributed to the account, which was used as a conduit pipe to drain government resources, as money were transferred from there to various individuals and companies.

Besides the impeached Local Government Chairmen who were reportedly indicted by the report, former governor Godwin Obaseki, and leaders of the factional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others, were also allegedly fingered.