Benin, Edo – In a heated public exchange unfolding on social media, a former commissioner in the administration of ex-Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has rebuffed calls for detailed disclosures on multimillion-naira contracts, insisting that all records are accessible through official channels.

The spat highlights ongoing tensions over transparency in public spending under Obaseki's eight-year tenure, which ended in November 2024, and has reignited demands for federal probes into alleged cronyism.

The controversy stems from comments made by Ogbeide Ifaluyi-Isibor, who served as Edo's Commissioner for Digital Economy, Science and Technology from 2023 to 2024.

In a recent online discussion, Ifaluyi-Isibor claimed that Obaseki's government empowered locals by awarding contracts that turned at least 10 Edo indigenes into billionaires, emphasizing that "human beings, not aliens" benefited from projects like over 7,000 kilometers of roads and renovations of more than 200 schools via the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

He cited specific initiatives, including upgrades to the state secretariat, the JOOPSA housing project, the Nigerian Observer complex, and hubs for education, agriculture, and creative industries like the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub.

These remarks, initially shared in a comment thread under a post by celebrity aide Israel DMW, prompted a sharp rebuke from MonITNG, a civic technology platform focused on tracking public projects and data access.

In a detailed open letter posted on X late Saturday, MonITNG accused Ifaluyi-Isibor of vagueness and demanded specifics, of the identities of the "10 billionaires," lists of road and school contracts with costs, companies involved, and current project conditions.

"Edo people deserve clarity... Transparency is not optional when public money is involved," the post read

Ifaluyi-Isibor fired back early Sunday in the very post that has now drawn widespread scrutiny. Dismissing the queries as "not rocket science" and an "epistle... needless," he directed critics to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records from the current administration under Governor Monday Okpebholo.

"The Godwin Obaseki administration was quite a transparent one," he wrote, defending profit margins in contracts as standard practice worldwide.

He argued that awarding jobs to capable Edo firms rather than "dashing people Government money for doing nothing" constituted genuine empowerment, countering narratives that Obaseki neglected locals.

This back-and-forth arrives amid a broader audit of Obaseki's legacy.

Just a day earlier, MonITNG escalated the issue in another viral post, explicitly calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate the "10 instant billionaires" created from public funds, questioning why rural schools remain dilapidated despite billions spent.

The plea highlighted stark disparities of pupils in areas like Udomi, Okpella, and Orhionmwon still endure leaky roofs and bare floors, even as Obaseki's team touted the EDOBEST digital learning program.

Governor Okpebholo, a political rival from the All Progressives Congress (APC), has amplified these concerns. On November 12, he publicly stated that Obaseki left behind approximately N180 billion in unpaid debts to local contractors, framing it as a burden on the state's finances.

Obaseki, now a chieftain in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has countered such claims, denying a larger N600 billion debt figure in early November and urging verification through transparent audits. His aides have long praised his e-procurement system as a benchmark for accountability, contrasting it with past "buying of contracts."

The row underscores persistent governance fault lines in Edo, a South-South oil-rich state with a history of fierce political rivalries.

Obaseki, who defected from the APC to PDP mid-tenure, positioned his administration as a bulwark against corruption, once declaring in 2020 that the "era of buying contracts" was over. Yet critics, including civic groups, point to uneven development gleaming urban hubs juxtaposed with crumbling rural infrastructure as evidence of favoritism.

A recent call by the Edo PDP for transparency on Okpebholo's own $250 million Glasgow investment deal further muddies the waters, suggesting mutual finger-pointing.

For Edo's 4.2 million residents, many grappling with pothole-riddled roads and underfunded schools, the demand is clear names, numbers, and accountability.

Whether this digital duel yields official scrutiny or fades into partisan noise remains to be seen.