Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State
Abdul Orho, Edo state commissioner for commerce and industry, has denied that he embezzled a N1 billion loan approved for a group, Libya Returnees Association, by the state government.
The association had allegedly accused Orho, who was then the commissioner in charge of the agriculture and natural resources ministry, of diverting the fund in connivance with some powerful people in the government to share the money with 360 farmers.
But in a press statement he issued on Thursday, Orho denied that any fund was ever released to the association in the first instance.
“My attention has been drawn to series of statements issued by one Solomon Okoduwa purportedly on behalf of Libya Returnees Association, who are indigenes of Edo state.
“Okoduwa claimed that the Edo state government approved and released one billion naira to the association for an agricultural project and that the money was embezzled by me, then the commissioner for agriculture and natural resources, Edo state. This is not true, no kobo was approved for such project by the state government.
“When the Libya returnees were evacuated to Maiduguri in 2012 from Libya, thr state government directed that they be brought to Benin City. As part of its duty of care to its people, the state government ordered that the returnees were to be rehabilitated and reintegrate into the society by the ministry of women affairs and social development.
“The ministry then approached the ministry of agriculture and natural resources to train them on modern farming skills to enable them become self reliant. No funds were released for this initiative. However, I directed that they be trained by the Edo state ADP experts without any funding,” Orho said in the statement.
The commissioner further explained that after the training, the group …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
