Ahead of the inauguration of the new governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on November 12, the Network of Edo Lawyers has requested that the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) block the state government’s bank accounts.
The lawyers also objected to the outgoing governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, appointing a new accountant general, calling it a conspiracy to allow the government to take more money out of the banks.
The governor had to swear-in a successor on Thursday after the EFCC selected the state’s accountant general and two other officials due to widespread last-minute withdrawals last week.
As “Governor Obaseki has gone berserk, pulling out all revenues that belong to the state, six days to leaving office,” the group of lawyers petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)and the Nigeria Police Force to freeze all Edo State Government accounts.
The statement signed by Julius Ilenkhe noted that the governor on Thursday swore in a new Accountant-General to enable him to pull out the remaining funds of Edo State in some banks.
According to him, “these monies belong to Edo State and not Obaseki. He tried to use supplementary budget, which the Speaker of Edo State turned down.”
He said they were worried that the outgoing governor wants to clear the state accounts in all the banks by appointing a new Accountant General, since the former Accountant General is cooling off with EFCC over a suspicious withdrawal of over N14 billion last week.
He assured that they are steadily on guard to protect Edo State from the high appetite of a man to the detriment of the collective good of the state.
“It is important that all security agencies and the good people of the state and Nigeria join hands together to prevent this arbitrary looting of public funds,” the lawyers stated.
