Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has established a 14-member Assets Verification Committee to investigate the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor.
According to the statement, the committee will be inaugurated on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, in Benin City.
The panel, chaired by Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, includes Anslem Ojezua as Deputy Chairman, Frank Edebor as Secretary, and notable members such as Prince Kassim Afegbua, Patrick Ikhariale, Taiwo Akerele, Patrick Idiake, Rasaq Bello-Osagie, Fredrick Unopah, Mrs. Abdallah Eugenia, Patrick Obahiagbon, Kenny Okojie, Mrs. Lyndsey Tes-Sorae, and Abass Braimoh.
The committee is tasked with verifying the assets and liabilities inherited from the Obaseki administration to ensure transparency and accountability in governance.
The statement emphasized the need for the probe, citing inadequacies in the previous administration’s disclosure of the state’s assets and liabilities.
“Despite repeated calls for a more holistic database of the Assets and Liabilities of the previous administration, the Godwin Obaseki-led government came up with very scanty and limited assets and liabilities of the state,” it noted.
Governor Okpebholo said the initiative aligns with his campaign promise to promote probity and transparency in government operations.
“In line with the governor’s campaign promise to ensure probity, accountability, and transparency in government, and to deepen the governance process, a committee made up of respected sons and daughters from Edo State has to be constituted,” the statement added.
