Hotel probe: Edo PDP defends Obaseki, faults N25bn debt claim

Former Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki

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The Edo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday faulted the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afebgua’s claims regarding the Radisson Hotel.

The actual financial involvement of the state has pitched the immediate past administration, headed by Governor Godwin Obaseki, against the present administration, led by Monday Okpebholo.

Afegbua had on Wednesday said the state incurred N25bn debt over the Radisson Hotel, a project initiated during the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The hotel project has recently come under scrutiny, with a panel of the state House of Assembly summoning Obaseki for a probe.

The former governor, however, denied any wrongdoing, accusing his predecessor, Monday Okpebholo, of political vendetta.

Afegbua said that Obaseki’s claim that the state only invested N2 billion in the project was false, as documents showed the sum of N25 billion was sourced from the stock market and was being repaid by the state.

He added that the N2 billion Obaseki mentioned was for the purchase of the building from the original owners before the state began working on it.

He further noted that the present government is paying N385 million monthly from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the name of irrevocable payment order on the N25 billion.

However, the State PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Dan Osa-Ogbegie, said on Saturday that the Okpebholo-led administration was playing a politics of destruction.

He stated: “We have watched the reckless onslaught against many of the projects Obaseki did or started. Now, the Radisson Hotel project has become the latest victim of this administration’s politics of destruction. Kassim Afebgua’s statement on the Radisson Hotel project is a cocktail of ignorance and mischief. It betrays a frightening illiteracy in finance, social investments and contemporary development economics.

“Public-Private Partnerships, Special Purpose Vehicles, equity contributions, project-finance loans and asset-backed repayment structures are not crimes. They are the language of modern infrastructure development across the world. Under Godwin Obaseki, Edo State was deliberately elevated from rudimentary, rent-seeking governance to international best practice in fiscal discipline, transparency and investment-led growth. For the avoidance of doubt, the Radisson Hotel project was structured as a Public-Private Partnership. Edo State’s ₦2 billion contribution was seed equity injected to de-risk the project and attract credible private capital.

“The core private investor brought in substantial equity of its own. Other funds referenced by the government, including portions of bond proceeds, were deployed as loans to the Special Purpose Vehicle for construction and completion of the hotel, with clear repayment obligations tied to future operations. This is not a plunder, this is development finance.

“Even before commencement of operations, the Edo investment in the Radisson project had already appreciated significantly, conservatively valued at over ₦65 billion, with further upside expected once operations began. This is what happens when governments think strategically, attract private capital and invest in long-term economic assets.”

“The insinuation that the project was “sold for peanuts” or gifted to cronies is false, malicious and defamatory. Edo State retained equity in the project. At no point did Godwin Obaseki have any direct or indirect ownership interest in the hotel.”

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