School fence demolition: Ex-footballer accuses Edo of political vendetta

Ex-international footballer, Prince Collins Eselemo has raised an alarm of alleged pulling down of the multi-million naira, 500-meter-long perimeter fence he built for his alma mater, New Era College, Benin City in Edo State.

Eselemo, an All Progressives Congress stalwart and scion of the Eselemo Ijaw dynasty in Warri, Delta State, in a signed statement made available to journalists in Warri on Monday over the alleged incident, noted with concern that “the action had political undertone”.

According to the statement, the perimeter fencing of the school which he had constructed in response to a security call, was extensively pulled down by functionaries of the Edo State Government, who used the same as the gate for a Cottage Hospital.

“This action without reference to stakeholders stemmed from political difference”, Eselemo stated.

The ex-international footballer’s statement said, “In response to need of my alma mater, I spent huge millions to erect a ten-feet-high 500m perimeter fence to address security concerns of kidnapping, raping and the likes, of my alma mater as a way of giving back to society.

“The fence had been down for years and the children were exposed.

“I intervened to rebuild the fence, not because of failed efforts by the Government, but to attend to a distress call of my alma mater.”

Stating further, he added, “A supposed elitist Government knows that partnership with public-spirited individuals is a national/global call.

“In the instant matter, I came in to rescue my alma mater which needed the fence and school gate that I built properly. But government agents destroyed a sizable length of the fence I built obviously because of political differences.

“I am APC. The ruling government is PDP. Probably it sees what I did to my school as political capital for my party the APC and so should be defaced and destroyed.

“The shocking thing is that the government had choice/power to place access gate to the cottage hospital, that was hurriedly built, from several other points, but they were interested in defacing my efforts and shutting down my philanthropist gesture which government should normally have encouraged.

“Incidentally, the Governor’s wife, Betsy Obaseki, was at the inauguration ceremony of this philanthropist gesture.”

Several efforts to reach the State Commissioner for Education, Joan Osa Oviawe, through phone calls and text messages for comments on the allegation were to no avail as of the time of filing this report.