Sports festival: Edo Dep Gov, Shaibu allegedly fritters N3b on bread, N700m for transportation

Reports have emerged on social media how Edo state Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu allegedly siphoned several billions of naira meant for the organization of the 2020 National Sports Festival hosted by the state in 2021.

The report scattered across social media platforms claimed the deputy governor expertly inflated the contract cost of each service for the hosting of the sports tournament, including feeding, hotel reservation, cleaning and other logistics, awarding same services to companies he had allegedly set up through his wife and other cronies.

The report quoted a source close to the deputy governor who claimed the supply of bread for the feeding of the athletes during the National Sports Festival was used to siphon N3bn via a bakery set up in Edo North.

The source further claimed that the bread for the feeding of the athletes was produced and transported daily from Edo North to Benin where the athletes were camped, providing a fine platform for siphoning billions of Naira.

“One would wonder why the deputy governor will leave all the bakeries in Edo South and go to Edo North to produce ordinary bread to feed athletes for a competition being hosted in Benin. He didn’t even bother about the cost of transportation daily, and other logistics needed for the supply.”

The source further revealed, “I have it on good authority that over N700 million was expended on the cost of transporting the bread alone to Benin City, which is not inclusive of the cost of production. That was exactly the pattern of financial impropriety that occurred during the sports festival championed by the deputy governor.”

>>Shaibu responds<<

But responding to the allegation when Allnews.ng reached Shaibu’s spokesman, Musa Ebohiana he said the allegation was laughable and would not be needing a response.

He said in this era of social media, all sorts of news, both real and fake fly about and it takes analytical mind to discern which is false or true.

According to him: ” A deputy governor of a state would divert money meant for sports so that the event would not hold? He will divert the money to his personal use and people want to believe it?

“That is rubbish. He diverted the money to build a house or what and that sport did not hold and you people believe it. It’s unbelievable. It’s not something any reasonable human being will believe.

“Do you know why I’m laughing? They said he siphoned N3bn. How much was the totality of the entire festival? How much would it cost the state government to host that festival if only bread took N3bn. And people want to ask me questions on what I feel about it and I will just laugh over it. How much was the whole festival? It is laughable.”