In a statement, Osagie said Okpebholo is devoid of ideas and lacks a clear vision to drive development in the State, noting that the governor is resorting to cheap political theatrics and using a circus of meaningless probes to distract from his “glaring incompetence and lack of direction.”

He said Okpebholo is acting as if the people of Edo State were an undiscerning mob and is now staging a spectacle similar to a gladiatorial duel in the Ancient Roman Colosseum, with the plan to deceive the people with such theatrics and diversionary probes.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a laughable and utterly ridiculous statement by the Monday Okpebholo’s administration setting up a 14-member State Assets Verification Committee to probe the administration of his predecessor, His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki, who is globally acclaimed to have run one of the most transparent, accountable and prudent government’s in the history of Nigeria.

“This is another in the list of the barrage of meaningless probes which the governor and his directionless government is embarking on since they got into Dennis Osadebey Avenue through the back door. From probing civil servants’ employment to probing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and probing vehicles and other assets of government, among others, the governor-select has continued to show that he is bereft of ideas and lacks a clear vision for the development of the State and has therefore resorted to these charades of empty probes to buy time and distract from his incompetence and unpreparedness for office.

“His plan is to treat Edo people like an undiscerning mob that you can distract with a show like the duel of gladiators in the Ancient Roman Colosseum. But Okpebholo will soon learn that he is the governor with the hardest job in Nigeria because the Edo people of Edo State are wise and can hardly be fooled. His diversionary probes may succeed in deceiving people in some States in Nigeria but certainly not those in Edo State.

“He should stop his futile and failed attempt to fool the people of Edo State who have already seen him for who he truly is: a politician out of his depth who has become a tool in the hands of his many godfathers who are thirsty for vendetta, having for long been denied access to the people’s patrimony by the immediate past government of His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

“It is on record that the Obaseki administration achieved an unprecedented level of transparency in governance, laying a solid foundation for fiscal discipline, which was why it was able to accomplish the numerous milestones recorded across various sectors of the State, including the economy, education, agriculture, infrastructure, among others. Under Obaseki’s watch, the State developed its first asset register, containing all the government’s assets, which has since been handed over to the new government.”

He added: “So, we know what their plans are with the diversionary probes. It is just a smokescreen to mask the governor-select’s incompetence and unpreparedness for office, having come into power through a stolen mandate.

“We want to advise Okpebholo to focus on governance and improving the lives of Edo people rather than waste state resources masking his incompetence in meaningless probes. Edo people are watching and his short-span government which lasts until the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) reclaims its mandate duly given to it by Edo voters will be judged not by the noise it makes but by the impact it delivers.”

Okpebholo approved the formation of a 14-member State Assets Verification Committee to investigate the administration of his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Fred Itua, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

He said the committee, which will be inaugurated on Tuesday, 26 November 2024, at Government House in Benin City, will be chaired by Dr Ernest Afolabi Umakhihe.