The Edo State government on Thursday said they are the original owner of the properties that were recently pulled down.
Edo state government had on Tuesday, March 23 demolished some properties belonging to Oshiomhole’s allies, including Pius Odubu, immediate past deputy governor of the State, Julius Ihonvbere, member representating Owan at the House of Representatives and was a former Secretary to the State Government, and Mike Itemuagbon, a sports marketer, all located in Benin City, the State capital.
Osarodion Ogie, Secretary to the State Government in a statement said the action taken by the state government was to eject illegal occupants and effectively take possession of the assets.
Ogie clarified that contrary to insinuations that government embarked on the recovery of the properties to seek revenge, the Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) of the properties were revoked on December 21, 2020.
“Therefore, the persons occupying the said properties are doing so illegally and are trespassers,”Ogie said.
He pointed out that the governor has a responsibility to protect and act in the best interest of the citizenry and will never betray the public trust reposed in 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 . One of the properties was allocated to Governor Obaseki and was also revoked.
“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,” he added.
