The ongoing investigation into missing government property in Edo State has uncovered a shocking number of unaccounted vehicles. Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, recently revealed that nearly 500 vehicles belonging to the state government remain missing.
Initially, it was reported that 200 vehicles were unaccounted for, leading the Okpebholo administration to set up a recovery committee tasked with retrieving the missing assets. However, further investigation has shown that the number of missing vehicles is much higher.
Itua, speaking on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Monday, shared that based on the latest findings from the recovery committee, the true count of missing vehicles is closer to 500.
“So far, the committee set up to recover vehicles, as of this morning from findings that I made, they had recovered about 10 vehicles,” he said.
“From the conversation I had with the chairman of that committee, he said that the initial figure of 200 was understated that there are almost 500 vehicles that are still missing and as of yesterday, they had traced about 21 of those vehicles to the house of a very top appointee of the last government.”
The recovery committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has traced several of the missing vehicles to former officials in the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
According to Itua, some vehicles were found at the residence of a senior appointee of the previous government, while another 15 were located at the house of another top official. The committee has pledged to continue its efforts to recover these assets, which are believed to have been wrongfully retained by private individuals.
“In the coming days, they intend to legitimately recover these vehicles and other assets belonging to the state that are being held in private hands,” Itua added.
The investigation is part of a broader probe into Obaseki’s administration, which ended just a few weeks ago. Obaseki, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was succeeded by Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Okpebholo’s team has made it clear that the probe is meant to ensure accountability and transparency in governance.
However, the investigation has been met with criticism from Obaseki’s camp. Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki’s media aide, dismissed the probe as a diversion. He claimed it was designed to distract from what he described as Okpebholo’s lack of preparation for leadership.
“We know what their plans are with the diversionary probes. It is just a smokescreen to mask the governor-elect’s incompetence and unpreparedness for office, having come into power through a stolen mandate,” Osagie said.
