Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has named Kasimu Otono as his new Special Adviser on Oil and Gas.
Otono succeeds Felix Isere, who was suspended on Tuesday for raising funds without authorisation in the name of the Edo State Government in preparation for a projected Oil and Gas Summit in Benin City on 7 August.
The appointment was announced Friday in a statement signed by Umar Ikhilor, Secretary to the State Government.
The statement read, “It is hereby announced for the information of the general public that the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has approved the appointment of Barr. Kasimu Otone as Special Adviser (Oil and Gas) to the Governor.
“Barr. Kasimu Otono, who replaces the suspended immediate-past Special Adviser, Mr. Felix Isere, is a legal practitioner, real estate entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community mobiliser.”
According to the statement, Otono is a member of both the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association, and he presently works as a senior partner at Kay & Kay Legal, a business that specialises in commercial, real estate, and oil and gas law.
Okpebholo had already asked Isere to reimburse any payments collected from contributors and advised the public against doing business with him.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
