Kelly Okungbowa, the chairman of the committee appointed by Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, to recover vehicles taken by former officials during ex-Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, has recovered three of the 200 vehicles.
According to reports, the committee, which was formed on Thursday in Benin, the state capital, has been given two weeks to complete its task. Okungbowa, speaking to journalists on Friday about the committee’s success within just 24 hours, revealed that the three vehicles recovered included one Hilux van and two Toyota Hiace buses.
In one of the recovered buses, the committee discovered palliatives that should have been distributed to the people of Edo, including 10kg and 25kg bags of garri and rice.
The committee chairman appealed to the public for more information, stating that the tips received so far led to the recovery of the three vehicles. Okungbowa assured potential whistleblowers that they would receive a generous reward, provided their information was accurate and verifiable.
He said, “We have recovered one Hilux and two Toyota Hiace buses in private custody. We assure Edo people and the state government that we are going to do the job to the best of our ability. We will make sure we recover all the stolen vehicles.
“Report reaching us is that we have over 200 government vehicles missing. We appeal for more information as the whistleblowers will be handsomely rewarded.
“This is not private property but the property of Edo citizens, and it is not good for a private individual to steal government property.
“These vehicles were recovered from one person’s house. Palliatives were recovered from the Toyota Hiace bus as some garri and bags of rice were kept in the bus.”