The Edo State Government has alleged that almost 500 official vehicles from the previous administration remain unaccounted for, significantly higher than the initial figure of 200 announced earlier.
Fred Itua, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, disclosed the updated figure during an appearance on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics on Monday. The development follows a recovery effort initiated by Okpebholo shortly after assuming office.
“So far, the committee set up to recover vehicles has, as of this morning, recovered about 10 vehicles,” Itua said. “The chairman of the committee informed me that the initial figure of 200 was understated, and almost 500 vehicles are still missing.”
Itua added that 21 of the missing vehicles had been traced to the residence of a senior appointee from the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki. He further noted that another 15 vehicles were discovered at the home of another high-ranking official from the same administration.
The recovery committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has vowed to retrieve these vehicles and other state assets held in private hands in the coming days.
Itua lamented that some officials in the current administration lack vehicles, claiming that Governor Okpebholo inherited no assets from the Obaseki government.
Okpebholo recently launched a committee to probe Obaseki’s administration, citing his commitment to “probity, accountability, and transparency in governance.”
However, Obaseki has dismissed the probe as a distraction, accusing his successor of incompetence. His media aide, Crusoe Osagie, criticized the initiative as a “smokescreen” to mask Okpebholo’s lack of preparation for leadership.
“We know what their plans are with these diversionary probes,” Osagie said. “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 urged Okpebholo to focus on governance and improving the lives of Edo State residents rather than engaging in what he called “meaningless probes.”
