It has come to our notice that the Asset Verification Committee set up by the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led government has completed its report and handed same to the State Government today and through media sources, we have been able to decipher some of the points raised in the report, all of which have revealed that the committee was only a witch-hunt set up with an agenda to deliberately falsify facts and malign the good image of the immediate past government of His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

Every asset and transaction that was carried out during the Obaseki administration is contained, with detailed explanations and data, in the Transition Committee Report, which was put together by the Obaseki government and handed over to the Okpebholo-led administration just before they took over office.

It is therefore disturbing to find that, despite having the facts and data concerning everything the committee set out to verify in this transition document, they have still gone ahead to falsify the facts to malign the image of Obaseki and misinform the public.

We are therefore calling on the public to disregard these lies and kindly refer to the Transition Report, which is now a public document and can be accessed at: https://www.godwinobaseki.com/embed-pdf/edo-state-government-2024-transition-committee-report. All Edo people, and indeed all Nigerians, need to do is go into this report, trace any transaction being discussed, and find all the details therein. They can then approach the government through the Freedom of Information Act to request relevant documents related to what is stated in the Transition Report.

It is more productive for a government to deal with facts rather than contrived data and since the primary responsibility of any government is to serve the people and improve their lives, it is these facts and verified data that will help drive meaningful progress and prosperity, not fiction or contrived data. We, therefore, urge Senator Monday Okpebholo and his administration to focus on the facts and verified data, and stop spreading falsehoods and telling unintelligent lies in a desperate attempt to achieve their selfish interests.

Crusoe Osagie, Media Adviser to His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, Governor, Edo State (2016-2024)