Senator Monday Okpebholo, Edo State governor, on Tuesday, said plans are under way to investigate the reported expenditure of $10m by his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, on the state-owned newspaper, The Nigerian Observer.
Okpebholo made this known during an unscheduled visit to the premises of the Observer titles on Tuesday, where he led top officials of his administration to inspect the facilities.
However, the governor and his team were surprised to find they could not access the buildings where the machines, purportedly purchased by the previous administration, were meant to be kept.
The once-vibrant media organisation was shut down by Obaseki with the intention of revamping it to compete with national dailies.
Okpebholo, visibly upset by the lack of access to the facilities, vowed to return for another inspection to verify the presence of the machines and equipment that were said to have been bought with taxpayers’ money under Obaseki’s administration.
Okpebholo noted: “I visited The Observer Newspaper company to see for myself the money that was claimed to have been spent by the former governor, Godwin Obaseki, on revamping the state-owned media house.
“The former governor claimed to have spent $10m to revamp the newspaper house just before the elections. However, everywhere was locked, and there was nothing inside. I couldn’t even find a cleaner, and those we met on-site were not actual employees of the organisation.”
He continued, “I need to return to inspect the buildings myself and verify whether the equipment bought by the previous administration is actually there.
I can’t say for sure if the machines are there because I couldn’t access the premises. If the place was functioning, there would have been people working there, especially given the resources reportedly spent on it.”
The governor stressed the imperative of accountability, stating, “Edo people deserve to know what happened to the money spent on revamping The Observer Newspaper. As their governor, I’m here to provide them with answers, which is why this visit was necessary.”
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