There is tension at the Edo State Urban Water Corporation, following a petition against the Acting Managing Director, Mrs Toyin Rose Adeboyega over an alleged N1.361 billion contract fraud.

SOCIETY REPORTERS reports that Mr Christopher Abhulimen, a staff of the corporation, wrote the petition against the Managing Director to the Edo State Government.

The petition addressed to the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo was dated February 6, 2025.

The petition is titled, ‘Concerning instances of misappropriation of funds, mismanagement of public funds, poorly executed contracts/fictitious contract projects facilitated by the previous administration with the abetment and instrumentality of the Acting Managing Director of Edo State Urban Water Corporation, Mrs Toyin Rose Adeboyega’.

Abhulimen, who listed about eight projects allegedly involved in the fraud, noted that not only did some of the aforementioned projects not exist in reality, but even for the few that exist, there is nothing in them to justify the astronomical funding commitments.

He appealed to Governor Monday Okpebholo to take all necessary actions to ensure thorough investigations of the projects as well as the complicity of the Acting Managing Director, and/or any other person(s) in the facilitation of alleged unwarranted hemorrhage of public funds.

In the petition, Abhulimen, listed the projects and their cost to include N700 million pipeline network reticulation to Ugboha, Uromi and environs, N23 million funding of Abico Pumping Station, and N120 million provision of potable water to Emotan Garden Estate.

Others are N150 million reactivation of water schemes at Etsako and Akoko-Edo, N150 million supply of pipes and accessories to Ugboha/Uromi Water Scheme, N15 million for supply of chemicals, N160 million for the management of Ugboha Dam and N43 million of illegal sales/disposal of exhumed ductile pipe in the course of road construction at Iruekpen and environs.

When contacted, the Acting Managing Director of the Corporation, Mrs Toyin Rose Adeboyega, said a journalist has already written a rejoinder on the petition.

Adeboyega, who forwarded the alleged rejoinder to DAILY POST, denied the allegations levelled against her.

Mrs Toyin Rose Adeboyega, Acting Managing Director, Edo State Urban Water Corporation.

The alleged rejoinder written by Comrade Robinson Akhenoba, titled, ‘Allegation against Mrs Toyin Rose Adeboyega’, alleged that after conducting a thorough investigation in the said ministry, it was found that “these allegations are not only misleading but also a gross misrepresentation of facts”.

Akhenoba, while urging the governor to take time to investigate the allegations as contained in the petition, advised him to remain vigilant and not succumb to the alleged manipulative tactics of those who seek to divide and rule.

According to him, these individuals often rely on misinformation and speculation to achieve their goals, which can lead to unfair treatment of dedicated public servants.

“I implore you to prioritize facts and figures when evaluating these allegations, rather than getting swayed by baseless claims. As findings have shown, Mrs Adeboyega possesses a high level of integrity and a strong commitment to her role. It’s crucial for you to recognize and appreciate her efforts in serving the people

“By focusing on verifiable evidence and ignoring malicious rumors, you can ensure that justice is served,” he added.

Unity Bank Plc has announced the appointment of Kolawole Ebenezer as its new acting managing director/chief executive officer.

The appointment follows the retirement of Mrs Oluwatomi Somefun who has completed her tenure as MD/CEO.

The development was announced at the Bank’s 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in Lagos on Wednesday, after securing necessary approval from its primary regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Mr Kolawole is a seasoned and consummate banker with over three decades of industry experience. He began his financial services career at Caribbean Finance Limited (an affiliate of CFL in Cayman Island) in Kaduna in 1992. He later joined Ecobank where he worked in various departments of the Bank, both operations and finance suites and rose to the position of Deputy Financial Controller.

He moved to Standard Trust Bank (STB) and worked at various strategic areas including Operations, Regulatory Risk Management and Finance suites and played a pivotal role in the STB/UBA merger. Post-merger, he served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the United Bank for Africa.

He moved to Mainstreet Bank as the Bank’s Group Chief Finance Officer (GCFO) and actively drove the turnaround and transformation initiatives of the Bank. He had a brief stint at Globacom, a foremost and Nigeria’s leading indigenous Telecommunication giant, where he served in various capacities for corporate business development.

Mr Kolawole joined Unity Bank Plc as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2015. He was later, in February 2018, appointed the Executive Director to oversee Finance, Operations and Information Technology, where he played a key role in the Bank’s strategic transformation and cost optimization initiatives which enhanced the Bank’s performance and market feasibility.

In line with the Bank’s succession and business continuity plans, Mr Kolawole is saddled with the primary responsibility to finalise the Bank’s ongoing corporate programmes and other strategic business initiatives of the institution.

Mr. Kolawole holds a First-Class (Hons) Degree in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. He has participated in several management/executive education programmes in Columbia Business School, New York, USA and TheWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

Mr Kolawole is a member of several professional bodies including: Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA); Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration, (FICA), Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (HCIB), Associate Member of The Nigeria Institute of Management (AMNIM); Member of the Institute of Directors etc.

Tension gripped Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Wednesday as farmers took to the streets to protest the alleged killing of five people by suspected herdsmen at Aba Oyinbo community in Akure North Local Government Area.

It was gathered that the assailants invaded the community in the early hours of Wednesday, opening fire on the victims.

The fresh killings come barely two weeks after no fewer than 14 people were reportedly murdered by gunmen in four communities—Ademekun, Aba Pastor, Aba Sunday, and Alajido—all in the same local government area.

Angry protesters stormed the Governor’s Office in large numbers, chanting solidarity songs and calling on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene and halt the unrelenting attacks on farmers.

One of the protesters, identified simply as Jonah, decried the increasing spate of killings, alleging that the attackers infiltrated the state through Edo.

“We are being slaughtered without anyone doing anything. Akure North is under siege. We are farmers, not criminals. We are appealing to the governor, the police, the army, and Amotekun to save us before more lives are lost,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, security operatives had been deployed to the protest scene to prevent a breakdown of law and order.