Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, has said that Benin billionaire, Captain Hosa Okunbo, sponsor of the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Osagie Ize-Iyamu, is investing in the APC candidate to reap Edo State’s treasury.

Osagie said this in a statement issued in Benin City, the state capital, in response to Okunbo’s interview published in several national newspapers on Monday, stressing that “Obaseki’s stellar performance is visible across the three senatorial districts of the state.”

The governor’s aide noted: “In the interview Okunbo granted journalists in Abuja, he said he does not invest in any venture without first assessing the profit motive. He also said that he will spend his last kobo backing Ize-Iyamu.

“So, clearly, Okunbo is investing in Ize-Iyamu with the treasury of Edo State in mind. This is the reason they want Governor Obaseki out of the way, so that he can grab the treasury of Edo State to service his outlandish lifestyle. Edo State will have nothing left in the treasury to pay pensioners, teachers and other government workers.

“Edo people know that the return on Okunbo’s investment in Ize-Iyamu is the entire Edo State’s treasury. All the accusations of nonperformance he made against the Governor in the interview are all lies, concocted to put the governor in bad light.”

Osagie maintained that Governor Obaseki is on ground and the preferred candidate in the September 19 gubernatorial poll. He queried: “If Governor Obaseki is not on ground, why is Okunbo investing his billions in Ize-Iyamu? No one needs billions of naira to defeat an unpopular candidate.

“Okunbo also dropped subtle threats in the interview when he said that he has 3000 youths in the Niger Delta that are ready to overrun Edo State. The security agencies should take note of these threats and watch him closely as we approach the election.”

He added: “Okunbo needs to understand how the various social media platforms work. No one controls or gags social media. What Edo youths have been posting with regard to the achievements of the Governor are on ground for everyone to see.

“These Edo youths actually go to project sites like the Benin Modular Refinery, the CCETC-Ossiomo Independent Power plant project, the several road projects, including bridges, the Secretariat Complex, the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun Training Centre, TV Road, Ehaikpen Street, and Lucky Way, and other projects to take pictures and interview people living in those neighborhoods, which they post on social media.

“Okunbo also insulted the intelligence of Edo people in the Diaspora when he suggested that they are being deceived by social media posts. Unknown to the APC sponsor, our Diaspora community is in touch with the daily happenings in Edo State.

“They are beneficiaries of the various policies and programmes of the Obaseki-led government. Most of them own houses in the state and have benefited from the Anti-Community Development Association Law, which has removed thugs from building and construction sites.

“Most of them now have Certificate of Occupancy for their property in the state through the Edo Geographic Information Service agency (EDOGIS), initiated by Godwin Oabseki. Edo people cannot be deceived by the propaganda being sponsored by Okunbo.”

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