FORMER Senior Special Assistant to Governor Godwin Obaseki and Executive Director of the Initiative For Youth Awareness on Migration, Development and Re-integration, Comrade Solomon Okoduwa, has hailed the electoral victory of Senator Monday Okpebholo.

Also, Okoduwa urged the in-coming APC-led administration to probe the current administration over the three million Euros meant for the rehabilitation of Libyan returnees given to the state government by the European Union.

He alleged that the money was meant for the provision of shelter, and stipends for the about 6,500 returnees, but that “they diverted the money using cronies and nothing was done for these returnees and that is why today they are all stranded while many have returned back to Europe of Libya.”

Okoduwa, who described the electoral victory of Senator Okpebholo as victory for all Edo people particularly the returnees, asserted that “Almighty God deliberately wanted to punish the current Obaseki-led government for its wickedness to returnees and other indigenes of Edo state.

“The factors that led to his defeat was the wickedness and highhandedness, unforgiven spirit and vendetta. He is very deceptive. For example they went Europe to appeal to the European Union to get a grant to enable them return migrants to Edo state.

“And because they wanted to end the illegal trip to Europe by migrants through Libya, they gave the government over three million Euros. They were supposed to use the money to provide skills for the returnees but never did. They came up with another promise that they were going to give returnees in Edo state N100 million and 150 hectares of land, but till today nothing happened. Then they came out again with another trick that they were going to give returnees stipend of N20,000 monthly. They paid for just two months.

‘’The day they launched the N20,000 stipend, they invited CNN and other international media to celebrate it, but shortly after event they never did anything. They got that grant from UNODC, British Council, Italian Government through the Italian Ministry of interior. These people were funding Edo state government to curb migration in Edo state, but they hijacked the money and the project. Till today returnees were not given a dime. The shelters they built for them, the same state government converted it to something else.

“We thank God Okpebholo has come. We have more than 6,500 returnees no one has been empowered. I thank God Edo people paid them back by voting them out.

“Okpebholo from his background is God sent. The way he addressed issues and relates to people you will never see arrogance in him. That is why the entire returnees protested against him and voted Okpebholo. We are now appealing to Senator Okpebholo to probe that money. I have details of all the money. They cannot eat the money meant for poor people and get away with it,” he added.