Okpebholo Threatens To Petition EFCC Over Alleged N25bn Radisson Hotel Fraud

The Edo State Government has accused the immediate-past administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki of alleged financial malfeasance in the Radisson Hotel project in Benin City, announcing that it would petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after concluding ongoing investigations.

Recall that the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had last week accused the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo of lacking ideas, vision and a clear understanding of modern governance.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, the PDP described the current administration as driven by vendetta and propaganda rather than purposeful leadership.

However, in a statement on Sunday, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the state, Prince Kassim Afegbua, alleged that the Obaseki-led government sourced ₦25 billion from the stock market in the name of Edo State and invested it in the Radisson Hotel project, but later ceded 80 per cent equity to a private investor while the state retained only 20 per cent.

Afegbua claimed that Edo State is still servicing the ₦25 billion loan through an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order of about ₦385 million monthly, adding that there is no public record showing that the private investor injected funds into the project to justify its majority stake.

He further alleged that the investor was a newly registered company incorporated in May 2024, with no known track record in the hospitality industry, and that the acquisition of a majority equity stake was not subject to a competitive bidding process.

He said, “Till date, no record of this investor ploughing money into the project to warrant his 80% equity ab initio. The N25b sourced from the Stock Market is still being paid through an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order of N385m monthly by the Edo state Government.

“Yet, your so-called investor registered a brand new company in May 2024, with no antecedents to support any involvement or success in the hospitality business or any other.

“They did not go through any competitive bidding to acquire a whopping 80% of that hotel pronto. Hmm, what manner of financial wizardry is that? This is only possible in Godwin Obaseki’s school of economics and public finance. And we have elected never to enrol in such a dubious college of fraud.

“The Radisson Hotel remains that of the Edo state government. Every kobo of Edo taxpayers’ money spent and invested in the project would be accounted for. You cannot use the Edo state government as a collateral entity to source N25billion from the stock market and invest the money for the benefit of your friends and cronies.”

The commissioner also dismissed claims linking the current administration to the Ossiomo Power Plant, stating that the state government only opted to reduce its reliance on the facility by adopting alternative power sources, including solar energy and services from the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, in line with cost-cutting measures.

Afegbua said Governor Okpebholo’s administration was committed to transparency and prudent management of public funds, contrasting it with what he described as “opaque financial transactions” under the previous government.

He added that the Okpebholo administration had initiated an ambitious programme of infrastructural development, particularly in education.

Afegbua emphasised that more schools have been built in Benin City within one year than during Obaseki’s eight-year tenure, while also reviving Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and Edo State University, Uzairue, through fresh financial interventions.