Barely 24 hours after the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) accused Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration of allegedly squandering over N28 billion on a hotel project, the state government attributed the variation in the contract sum to inflation induced by the APC-led Federal Government.
The Edo State chairman of the APC, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, had, during a press conference on Saturday, accused the Obaseki administration of mismanaging state resources on projects like the Radisson Hotel, while the ownership status of the hotel and other projects, such as the Edo Modular Refinery, remain unclear.
Tenebe called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Governor Obaseki, the PDP governorship candidate Asue Ighodalo, and his running mate Osarodion Ogie.
Responding to the APC’s allegations on Sunday, the state government issued a statement titled “Edo 2024: Clear Incompetence, Ignorance on Contemporary Governance Forcing APC to Deploy Diversionary Campaign Tactics.”
The statement, signed by Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media Projects, did not deny the amount quoted by the opposition party for the hotel reconstruction contract.
Osagie explained that many projects had undergone contract variations due to the poor management of the economy and the declining value of the naira against other world currencies.
“They make light of the investment in Radisson Hotel, a key addition to the state’s hospitality landscape.
Edo today boasts only one international hospitality chain, the Protea brand managed by Marriot, with Radisson being the second.
Much as there are a number of quality local brands, the potential benefits of increasing the number of international brands bode well for the state’s nascent tourism sector.
“The state has lost the hosting rights to a lot of international events on account of the limited presence of international brands.
The argument that the cost of the hotel has increased from the initial outlay is quite pathetic because that is on the APC-controlled Federal Government.
“As a result of their poor management of the economy and the declining value of the naira against other world currencies, a lot of projects have had to be subjected to contract variations.
Today, the development is costing more to complete because the fundamentals have changed and there is a need to reassess financing.
The APC would appreciate this if they were better schooled and had a basic understanding of macroeconomic dynamics.”
Osagie also addressed allegations concerning the establishment and construction of projects like the e-governance Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Edo Modular Refinery, and the EFCC investigation into the alleged mismanagement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention in agriculture.
He advised the APC to focus on substantive issues rather than engaging in diversionary tactics.
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