Some Libya returnees in Edo State yesterday denounced the purported endorsement of Obaseki by one Eghe Igbinoba who claims to speak on behalf of Libya returnees.
The Libya returnees known under the group name of National Association Of Mind Users Of Libya Returnees, NAMULR decried what they termed a deliberate attempt by Obaseki’s media handlers to spin the truth.
The group made this known in a press release made available to our reporters late Sunday evening.
The press statement was signed by its National President, Mr Jude Omoregie.
According to the statement, one faceless Eghe Igbinoba claims returnees from Libya have endorsed the candidature of Obaseki as Edo State Governor.
They claim the faceless Eghe could not identify which of the Libya returnees group he belonged to.
“It was appalling reading one faceless Eghe Igbinoba applauding Obaseki for his interference in the plight of Libya returnees in Edo State and thereafter endorsing the Governor for a second term.
We are using this medium to make it categorically clear that no Libya returnee has endorsed the candidature of Obaseki.
It is necessary to put the records straight as regards Obaseki’s unconcerned attitude towards Libya returnees in the State.
In the past four years, we have recorded about 6 200 returnees from Libya and it is on record that Edo State government did little or nothing to alleviate the plights of these returnees.
Obaseki’s task force on human trafficking and illegal migration is a total sham, instead of assisting in providing palliative measures for us they turned it to a conduit pipe to siphon state funds running into huge amount of millions.
The Task Force is notorious for discriminating against returnees in participating in the rehabilitation and reintegration programme organized by the State Government.
They have a known reputation of substituting names of returnees with fictitious names and those of their relatives in order to access the stipend earmarked for the rehabilitation exercise.
No single genuine returnee has benefited from Obaseki’s government in any way, not even a single palliative.
I recall when our batch returned to Benin City they ejected us from the hotel just after a day and told us to go back to our homes after they allegedly assigned 65 thousand naira to themselves with the guise it was given to us each as stipends.
The ill-treatment we received from the State Government was what gave birth to our movement.
Since the past two years we have been reaching out to Libya returnees to see ways we can be of help to them, we have been a rallying point to these returnees which the Government has failed to reintegrate into the society.
It is indeed pathetic for we to now hear a certain faceless man speaking on behalf of these returnees which Obaseki has always treated with disdain.
It is wicked, evil and reprehensible for Obaseki to be using the plight of these helpless and abandoned returnees to score cheap political points.
Although we are yet to make our decision as a body on who we are going to vote for one thing we are sure of is that we can never vote for Obaseki who lacks compassion and empathy.
At the appropriate time we shall make our decision known on who we have decided to throw our weight behind, but for now, let it be known to the world that Obaseki is not an option for we the returnees from Libya and we have not endorsed him in any way.”
Obaseki has been suffering series of backlash as different bodies have come out publicly to denounce endorsing Obaseki in any capacity at all.
