The Edo State Government has strongly denied the allegation that it plans to sell the $75 million World Bank loan for infrastructure development in the “black market”.
The government was reacting to a statement by the Peoples Democratic Party chairman in Edo State, Dan Orbih, shortly after his re-election on Monday that a bank had already donated its “private jet to Edo Governor to bring in the $75m World Bank loan”.
Mr. Orbih further alleged that the deal was expected to fetch the state government about N10 billion.
But in a statement, the state commissioner for information, Kassim Afegbua, denied the claim, describing it as reckless and a crass display of ignorance by the opposition PDP in the state.
“If Orbih were not a complete dunce, he would have known that World Bank is not like Ogbona Community Bank, where you can abuse financial procedures”, the commissioner said.
“He has just shown the reckless financial orientation of the PDP and their brigandage and voodoo economics.
“Otherwise, he would not even contemplate that a World Bank would carry money in sacks and hand it over to a state government”.
Mr. Afegbua said the government has repeatedly described the PDP as a party that had no answer to the challenges of governance.
He said, “We have repeatedly said it that the PDP has no answer to the challenges of governance. The empty-headedness of their state chairman further compounds their problem”.
“How on earth would a man talk about World Bank in such reckless emanations? What a pity”.
The commissioner said he would recommend Mr. Orbih for “a refresher course for him to learn the ropes in modern World Bank financial transaction instead of exhibiting manifest ignorance that tends to put Edo people to shame”.
