Edo State Government and the Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Col. David Imuse (rtd.), yesterday clashed over the sixth edition of Alaghodaro Investment Summit, holding between today and Sunday in Benin.
Commissioner for Communication and Orientation Chris Nehikhare said the summit would be used to unveil developmental and growth-oriented initiatives of the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration.
He said: “At the 6th Alaghodaro Summit, important guests and resource persons are scheduled to give talks on business development, youth empowerment and other sectors, where our state has made significant impact.
“We are also going to launch governmental initiatives. We have a lot of things to launch on Friday (today), and a lot of good news for Edo people. The government is very pleased with the progress we have made. We have reviewed our progress in the last six years, and we are on the right track.”
Edo APC chairman, reacting through the state’s Assistant Publicity Secretary, Victor Osehobo, described the summit marking the anniversary of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) government, as an annual hollow ritual that had been celebrating Obaseki’s incompetence.
He said: “The APC in Edo frowns at the hollow ritual called Alaghodaro Investment Summit by the state government, and the false claims that it annually consolidates on years of building a vibrant private-sector-led economy.”
“The claim by Edo government that this year’s summit will showcase the businesses and made-in-Edo products is even worrisome, in a state where the policy since 2016 has been to destroy and demolish every trace of entrepreneurship.
“We wish to condemn Edo government’s registration of ‘Alaghodaro Company Ltd by Guarantee (GTE),’ which is a grand ploy by Obaseki to legitimise his annual ritual of wasting Edo tax payers’ funds by uniting his cronies and business allies under one business name, while bolstering government’s efforts at sustaining Edo State as the most investment-unfriendly state in Nigeria.”