Outgoing Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has left the country.
He was reported to have handed over the running of the state to a former Commissioner, an laction which is in clear violation of the Court order reinstating his Deputy, Rt Hon Phillip Shaibu.
Before Obaseki left Benin city allegedly by road to Lagos in the late hours of Thursday, 27 September, 2024, he allegedly handed over the reins of power to his close ally and ex-Commissioner for Finance, Joseph Eboigbe, who doubles as the Secretary to the Edo State Government and Chairman, Transition Committee.
Exactly at 8.56 pm, Obaseki and his wife, Betsy boarded a Turkish airline transit flight Tk626 at the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport via Istanbul to Venice, Italy.
They arrived Instabul on Saturday, 28 September, 2024 at 5.40 am. Upon arrival in Istanbul after boarding the connecting Turkish Airline flight Tk1867 from Istanbul to Venice the flight took-off exactly 7.02 am and arrived at their final destination 8.29 am.
Obaseki and his wife will remain in Venice to attend the 60th Biennale Foundation International Cultural Exhibition, which will end in the third week of November, 2024.
He had written the State Legislature for approval of his terminal leave but choose to proceed before it was approved.
To confirm the Governor’s disappearance from the State, the midweek exco meeting this week was virtual with the Governor imploring all members of his exco to direct all their requests to Eboigbe, who he gave up to , Wednesday, 30 October, 2024 to finalise handover documents to formally submit same to the Governor-elect on November 12.
Recall that on July 11 2024 Obaseki inaugurated a 20-man transition committee Chaired by Mr Eboigbe. In 2017, Obaseki was appointed the Commissioner of the Nigerian pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale Exhibition by the Buhari administration. It was in that capacity he attended the Venice Biennale Exhibition in April 2024.
The Obasekis are believed to have a posh vacation mansion in Venice, Italy, which they plan to make their retirement home raising questions about Mrs Betsy Obaseki’s job at the Bank of Industry.
