Building Demolition: Illegal Occupants Were Ejected From Govt Property – Edo Govt.

                    Osarodion Ogie (Esq).

Secretary to Edo State Govermenmet

....... PDP hails action, calls for full recovery of all stolen govt. land

By Lucky Isibor.

The Edo State Government has said it evicted squatters and trespassers from government buildings and landed properties in the Government Reserved Area (GRA) axis of Benin City, the state capital, after their Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) were revoked, so as to effectively repossess the assets.

In a statement, Secretary to the Edo State Govermenmet, Osarodion Ogie Esq., said the eviction followed revocation of the Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) of the properties which were allocated to political office holders and companies by the state’s former Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

According to him, “On December 21, 2020, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, revoked the Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) of 11 government properties within the Government Reserved Area (GRA) which were allotted to former political office holders, companies and private individuals as parting gifts on the eve of the exit of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole from office.”

Ogie noted that one of the properties which the C-of-O was also revoked was allocated to Governor Obaseki, adding, “The properties have been revoked and recovered and therefore automatically belong to the original owner, which is the Government of Edo State. Therefore, the persons occupying the said properties are doing so illegally and are trespassers.”

“The action taken by the Edo State Government on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, was to evict the trespassers and squatters from these properties and effectively take possession of the assets. Therefore, the claims by the affected persons that their personal properties were demolished are false and baseless,” he said.

Ogie continued: “It is instructive to note that one of the properties in question to which a former Deputy Governor of the state, Dr. Pius Odubu, lays claim is actually the official Lodge of the Secretary to the State Government of Edo State (SSG). The implication of this is that all SSGs after Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s administration will not have an official residence.

“Some of those affected, including a former governor, have now resorted to media blackmail when in fact they forcefully ejected senior academic staff of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) from these government properties, only to convert them to their own private use.”

According to him, “Contrary to insinuations that government embarked on the recovery of the properties out of vendetta, the truth is that these are the only remaining properties in the GRA that belong to the state government. If they are allowed to be taken over by these private individuals, it means that when government wants to embark on any project within the GRA, it will have to resort to purchasing from the open market.”

“The governor has a fiduciary responsibility to protect and act in the best interest of the people of Edo State and will never betray the public trust they have reposed in him,” he added.

Mean while the Edo State chapter of the People's Democratic Party, PDP has thrown its weight behind the action of the state government for recoverying what it said is govermenmet land shared by former Governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

In a statement signed by the state publicity secretary of the party, described the action of the former political office holders as mindless, reckless and absurd noting that it amounts to conversation of govermenmet properties and assets to private use.

The statement also blamed the beneficiaries of the government land gift and for also brazenly laying claim to it when the bubble burst. Me on

"The People’s Democratic Party in Edo State supports and applauds Edo State Governor, His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki’s decision to recover government property illegally converted to personal use. 

"It is not only illegal and immoral but outright mischievous for Adams Oshiomhole to have gifted the official residence of the Secretary to the State Government to his Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Pius Odubu, and for Odubu to have accepted same and begin to lay claim of ownership to such, effectively denying the state an official residence for the SSG.

"Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole also had the audacity to allocate a huge portion of Government House to a company curiously named C.A. Aliyu and Company Limited. In an attempt to mask, hide and cover-up his deeds, Comrade Adams Aliyu allocated an unsolicited Government asset to Governor Godwin Obaseki who has rightly revoked and returned the Greek gift to Edo State government."

Efforts to get the reaction of those laying claim to the demolished landed properties failed as non of them could be reached for their side of the story. A visit to the Benin residence of the former deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu did not produce any result as his aids said he was not around. We'll continue to strive to get their side of the story.