Hendrix Oliomogbe
In a move which amounted to influence peddling, Edo State deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu Wednesday in Benin explained how the Edo South All Progressives Congress (APC) Senatorial candidate in the February 25 polls, Mr. Valentine"DVD" Asuen lobbied him to bend the law and release his truck which was impounded for illegal parking along Third East Circular Road, Benin.
In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Musa Ebomhiana, Comrade Shaibu charged that the action of Mr. Asuen who claimed in his statement to have called his wife more than fifty times to intervene was baffling as the law is no respecter of anyone, most especially for an aspiring lawmaker.
Irked by the outbursts, Comrade Shaibu, who demanded an unreserved apology, has threatened to drag DVD to court, noting that his claim without evidence was "riddled with puerile conjectures, infantile lies, belly-aching, outright misinformation and imbecilic bigotry."
DVD had in a viral video charged that he (Comrade Shaibu) confiscated two of his fuel trucks in a politically motivated attempt at destroying his business and made him cough out N6 million before the trucks were released.
The counter statement by Mr. Ebomhiana, titled "Valentine Asuen's Tissues of Lies Against Phillip Shaibu: Setting the Records Straight", explained that the APC member truck and several others ran foul of the provisions of the state government task force which was set up on November 6, 2023 to among others decongest major roads in Benin metropolis and ensure free flow of traffic.
He said that the task force which was chaired by former Attorney General and Honourable Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluwole Iyamu (SAN) was also mandated to dismantle illegal truck parks along highways that aggravate traffic congestion and cause damage to roads.
The Edo deputy governor's spokesman remarked that in the course of doing their job along Third East Circular Road, 12 trucks belonging to different petrol dealers were found violating traffic regulations by converting a portion of the road to a private truck park and causing willful physical damage to a long stretch of the road.
He added: "The trucks were impounded and kept in government custody by Edo State Traffic Management Agency (EDSTMA), pending further investigation and prosecution. It was later discovered that two of the trucks belonged to Mr. Valentine Asuen. The law however is no respecter of persons."
Continuing, Ebomhiana explained that in line with the tradition of the state government, the option of payment for repairs of willful damage to government property as plea bargain against prosecution was activated and supervised by Mr. Iyamu.
He noted that the Ministry of Physical Planning got a number of firms to quote for the job which was awarded to MacFrankly Nig Ltd for the reconstruction of the damaged portion of the road after which the cost burden was shared by the different owners of the trucks.
He said: "The deputy governor’s position was that if cab drivers who caused damages to electric poles due to reckless driving are made to pay by government, why would he intervene to save his millionaire friend whose trucks caused damage to public infrastructure and contravenes traffic regulations. Would his intervention not have made him an accomplice? Would it have been fair to the other persons whose trucks were also involved ?"
Comrade Shaibu further slammed DVD: "His infantile and shallow statement has shown that he was never a material for the high office of Senate to represent the very intelligent and cultured people of Edo South."
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