After being sworn in as the new governor of Edo State on Tuesday, Monday Okpebholo appointed Cyril Oshiomhole, the son of Adams Oshiomhole, the former governor of the state, as the commissioner for health.
Until his appointment, the new health commissioner was a US-based medical doctor who had his postgraduate training in Clinical Research at Harvard University in Boston, USA.
In 2017, the younger Oshiomhole attempted filling the vacant Etsako Federal Constituency seat vacated by Phillips Shuaibu when the latter was elected deputy governor of Edo in September 2016.
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The move generated a lot of controversy, forcing the new commissioner to claim that his ambition to represent his people in the House of Representatives was borne out of his passion to serve and not as a result of the political influence of his father. Johnson Aghuma eventually became the representative.
More importantly, Osadolor Ochie and Marxist Kola Edokpayi, two civil rights activists, petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the same year, accusing the older Oshiomhole of defrauding Edo State of N50 billion while he was governor.
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It was stated in the petition that the former governor had used some of the money to purchase properties in the US where Cyril resided.
“Throughout Oshiomhole’s tenure, over 80% of contracts that were awarded were never advertised or made public, and the costs were inflated,” the petition stated.
“With the benefit of the global fight against corruption, the EFCC should investigate allegations of Oshiomhole’s acquisition of properties in the United States of America; which are located in Miami, Florida and in Louisiana (where his first son, Dr Cyril Oshiomhole stays); as well as a luxurious apartment valued at one hundred million dollars at Peachtree Corners (Miami) FL.”
Interestingly, a High Court sitting in Abuja struck out the suit in 2019, stating that it was statute-barred.
The post FLASHBACK: The N50bn Fraud Petition Against Oshiomhole That Named Commissioner Son Cyril appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.