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Nigerian Pilot gathered on Thursday that Uhunmwangho was “retired” from the state Civil Service with immediate effect for allowing the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan use the Ogbe Stadium in Benin City for her husband’s second term campaign rally.
However, the state government alleged that the permanent secretary was removed for withholding information crucial to its interest and the general public, but the information was discovered to be the approval he gave to the First Lady for the use of the stadium on March 14.
It was further learnt that Uhunmwangho’s trouble started after granting permit to the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to use the Ogbe Stadium to host Patience Jonathan while the country’s major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had earlier indicated interest to use the same facility on that same day.
The state PDP chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, who spoke on the issue at a press briefing on Wednesday, said they had earlier told the state government of their intention to use the stadium.
The chairman at the conference displayed the cheque and bank tellers used in making payment of the sum of N1.2million to the state government for the use of the said facility as well as another letter from the ministry approving the party’s use of the venue.
Orbih said when he was told that the stadium was also booked to host APC presidential candidate’s wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, he said the PDP was also scheduled to use the venue on that date.
Meanwhile, the Information Commissioner, Louis Odion, who blamed the mix-up on the negligence of the officials of the Ministry of Sports, criticized them for given approval without consulting their supervisors, instead went ahead to collect money and issued receipt to the PDP to use of the stadium.
Odion alleged that despite the fact that the officials knew “full well that APC had last week applied and received approval for the use of same facility on Saturday (March 14, 2015). In fact, jingles were already running on local television and radio stations announcing that the wife of APC’s presidential candidate would be in Benin that day to deliver the message of change to Edo women.”
He said for the avoidance of doubt, Edo State Government, which is the owner of the said facility, reserves the right to insist that the party that got approval first would use the stadium.
“In the circumstance, we imagine the idle denizens of Edo PDP must by now be salivating at the prospects of having an opportunity to unleash mayhem on peace-loving people of Edo State with the excuse that money was collected from them. In deference to the office of the First Lady of Nigeria, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has graciously directed that Mrs. Patience Jonathan have her day on Saturday while the wife of the APC presidential candidate will have her turn another day,” he said.
Recall that the governor of Edo state averted what could have turned out to be a nasty spat on Wednesday when he intervened in the matter of which of the wives of the two major presidential candidates should be given access to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium this Saturday.
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