By Ibiwale Jefferson, Benin
The proposed sale of Edo House in Lagos by the Edo state government has come under frontal attack by the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
To this end, the party has vowed to “go to the full lenght to stop the satanic sale” of the property.
Chief Dan Osi Obi, Chairman of the state chapter of PDP, who disclosed this while addressing journalists in Benin, described the planned sale of the asset as fraudulent.
“We have come out this morning to reject the entire process,” he said, adding that the Edo House valued at N3.5 billion was the most priced asset of the state.
Orbi who queried the process of selecting Segun Asaju as Estate Agent handling the sale of the property, noted out that there were more qualified Estate Valuers of Edo State origin who were not given the opportunity to partake in the process.
He further alleged that Asaju had been an agent of a former labour leader who is now part of Edo State Government, adding that the planned sale of Edo House was designed to meet the interest of the said top government official who is interested in acquiring the property.
The PDP chairman particularly queried a clause in an advertorial placed in national dailies for the sale of the property which states that “the client has no obligation to accept the highest or any bid,” saying “if the reason is to get more money, why is the government not accepting the highest bid?”
Chief Orbih further alleged that the Edo State Government has concluded plans to sell the parcel of land given to the state by the Federal Government at Asokoro, Abuja, adding that the same top Government official was buying the land.
Reacting to PDP’s allegation, the Special Adviser to Governor Oshiomhole on Media and Publicity, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said the sale of Edo house as proposed by the government was “the best thing to do in the light of long years of decay in the hands of PDP government.”
Afegbua said rather than abandoning a property in Lagos, the state government will utilise its economic value for the overall good of the people of Edo State.
“What purpose is Edo House serving in Lagos as we speak when there are lots of developmental challenges back home in Edo State? We take decisions based on public interest of Edo people not personal ionterest of some PDP demagogues who plundered our collective patrimony in the past.”
He further disclosed that the state government needed money to develop the state, adding that the government would soon recover all properties that PDP chieftains appropriated to themselves in the state and elsewhere.