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Tag: Edo State

  • Obaseki to remove lawmakers’ constituency projects

    Solar powered street lights influenced by some lawmakers in the National Assembly as part of their constituency projects may soon be removed from the streets of Benin City by the Edo State Government.

    Posters of the lawmakers are placed on the solar powered street lights erected.

    It was gathered that the State Government has already approved street lights to be erected along some of the street the lawmakers have placed their street lights as constituency project.

    Government sources said the posters of the lawmakers placed on the street lights on roads under construction by the state government made the people believed that the road projects were part of the constituency projects.

    Governor Godwin Obaseki gave the indication when he ordered the removal  of substandard and unauthorized road furniture including similar projects, on roads and other projects across the state.

    The Governor who gave the order after the state’s weekly Executive Council meeting said it was not right to erect substandard electricity poles that are either abandoned mid-way or lack sustainable maintenance plan and pose safety risk.

    Obaseki noted that the decision became necessary in order to streamline project execution across the state and eliminate the chaotic situation currently being experienced.

    He stated that the growing trend of executing projects without recourse to the agencies of government that give approvals and licences for such projects, in line with laid down rules was worrisome and must stop.

    Read Also: Obaseki backs NBC’s youth entrepreneurship programme

    According to him, “The state is littered with substandard projects that disrupt the infrastructure master plan and violate laid down rules for such projects.

    “The chaotic and indiscriminate execution of substandard and unapproved projects, which are not known to state government agencies and other tiers of government, is unacceptable. This ugly trend must stop,” the governor said.

    “We have a template for the wide array of developmental projects which are being implemented in every ward in the state and anyone who is executing any project in any part of the state should seek approval from the relevant government agencies.

    “The right thing to do is to run your projects through officials of government saddled with the task to give approvals for such projects and secure the necessary approvals

    “Currently, consultation has reached advanced stage to have a dedicated electricity line that will feed government hospitals, the state secretariat complex and other government offices, to ensure regular power supply in those offices. You cannot disrupt such a plan with a project that the approving agencies are not aware of, and have not approved.”

    The lawmakers could not be reached for comments.

  • Osinbajo commends private sector-led economic expansion in Edo

    …lauds Obaseki on 1800-unit Emotan Gardens project

     

    The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday in Edo State, commended the private sector-led economic expansion in Edo State under Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    Osinbajo gave the commendation at the groundbreaking ceremony of the 1800 housing-unit Emotan Gardens, in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

    He said, “It is good to see the great and dynamic work the governor is doing. I was in Auchi recently to commission the Edo Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd. I was in this local government for the Benin Industrial Park. I commend the governor and MIXTA Africa for this excellent idea.”

    He lauded the governor’s investment drive and the increased participation of the private sector in the state’s economy.

    Chairman, Board of Directors, MIXTA Africa, Eddy Eguavoen, said that the firm was excited about the partnership with the Edo State Government on the project, noting that from his experience with other governments across Africa, Edo State government’s support for the private sector is unparallel.

    According to him, “Our experience has been remarkable. I want to assure Nigerians and those in the diaspora that this project will be delivered with the quality and standards that MIXTA Africa is known for.”

    Governor Obaseki said that the project is the realisation of his campaign to turn the state into an economic hub, noting that the project is in line with the pledge to revive the state’s economy.

    He said, “I promised to create 200,000 jobs in the first instance, and some of them were to be in agriculture and construction, among others.

    “We realised that housing is also key. Hence, we have re-enacted the Edo Development and Property Agency (EDPA) law and set up a new management. This project is a reflection of the new direction.”

    Read Also:Eight Edo indigenes returning from Spain die in Ogun accident

    Noting that the state has proven that much can be achieved with the private sector, he said, “I am happy that we have proven that it can be done.

    Obaseki added, “This building was put up in record time. I assure you that 80 per cent of materials used for this project was manufactured in Edo State. They will be used for the entire project.

    “We are starting a new paradigm. We expect that the houses will sell from between N3 million to N12 million. We are praticalising policies being enunciated in Abuja.”

    Former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, noted that the Vice President’s visits to Edo State indicate that the Edo economy is on track with Obaseki as governor.

    Oshiomhole maintained that the VP’s visits, the third since Obaseki assumed office, have always been to commission or kick-start economic projects that will propel growth and development and not for tea party.

    “These visits confirm that Obaseki is building on the foundation I have laid for the growth and development of the state.

    “I am happy because those that have doubt about our governor now know that we have a credible and a performing governor who is building on our development.”

    Oshiomhole added that the governor had assured that he would concentrate on the economy and create jobs for Edo youths, noting “this he has been doing, and has attracted private investors to the state”.

    The Vice President also launched the South-South Innovation Hub at the Edo Innovates facility. He also attended the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Clinic, where he and the governor had a chat with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (SIP).

     

     

  • Obasanjo should be jailed, Says Oshiomhole

    As Abiola’s children accuses Ex-President of betrayal

    Former Edo State governor and top contender for the office of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should arrested and sent to jail if found to have soiled his hands.

    Oshiomhole spoke In a pre-June 12 event he organized in honour of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN and acclaimed winner if the June 12 1993 Presidential Election, Bashorun MKO Abiola. He dismissed reports credited to the former President that President Buhari wanted to frame and arrest him, saying when he was in power, he also arrested and detained people, thinking that he would be president for ever.

    At the event, Hafsat Abiola Castillo accused the former President of betraying their father when he declared that Abiola was not the messiah Nigeria was looking for and never mentioned him once in his eight years in office as President.

    Oshiomhole also praised Chief Frank Kokori for standing up to dictatorship when it mattered most, saying even though he was not President if the NLC, he mobilized oil workers to support the ideals of democracy.

    Oshiomhole said Chief Obasanjo should be investigated and sent to jail if found to have dipped his hands in the pie.

    He said: “Gani is not here today, but his spirit is here. Falana is here and today, I am standing. Even the president who was in charge then, he is now complaining that they want to harass him. He was harassing me and he got me arrested. He thought he himself would not be arrested?

    “If I were the president, I would arrest him. We are all Nigerians. I remember one day I told him, I said ‘President Obasanjo, we made you president. You did not make me a Nigerian. You are our creation; I am not your creation. You must listen’.

    “But he thought he would be in power forever and he tried to take us on the way to Zimbabwe. He was a reluctant Head of State, became president for two terms and he wanted to do a third term because a cockroach licking palm oil would never lick enough.

    Read Also: My commitment to APC is total, says Oshiomhole

    “I remember when I was accused by former president Obasanjo of behaving as if I was an alternate president; that I was running the NLC like a parallel government,  that I wanted to overthrow his government. A small man like me, completely powerless.

    “If I am dark like this, it is because of Obasanjo’s teargas. When I now hear these same people saying they are trying to arrest them, why shouldn’t they be arrested? He should be arrested if he has committed any offence. He arrested many of us.

    “So, if we are celebrating Chief Gani Fawehinmi, we have compelling reasons to do so. In all of these, we didn’t pay any money to Gani or Falana. They defended us pro bono.

    “The late Abiola would be smiling not just for the honour done him by the president, but that Frank Kokori who was very young then, deployed the instrumentality of oil workers to support the progressive mission of the civil society.

    “It is not the position you occupy, but the role that you play that will define your place in history. This man was never an NLC president, but he is the only unionist invited to the investiture.

    “So, we just consulted among ourselves, few of us who benefited from Gani’s leadership by using the instrument of the law to confront evil leaders. At the NLC, we were so efficient at causing troubles, but too poor to procure the services of legal titans like Gani and Falana, but who would always come and defend us pro bono. So, we felt that on the eve of his investiture, we should gather and celebrate him.

    “On June 12, the late Abacha asked us to tell Abiola to do a national broadcast to renounce his mandate. Pascal Bafyau advised him to take the bail conditions because he got information that the regime was ready to keep him in jail indefinitely, but Abiola said he wouldn’t mind dying, that if you are already in the river, you can no longer complain of being wet.

    “Abiola died, but Abacha also died and today, Abiola’s children can go anywhere and say I am Abiola. But I am not sure of other persons”.

    Speaking at the emotion laden event, daughter of the late Chief Abiola, Hafsat Costello, said some people they considered as close friends of their father abandoned them when the June 12 controversy began, only to start calling the family’s phone lines when President Muhammadu Buhari proclaimed June 12 as Democracy Day and conferred a posthumous award of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic GCFR on the late democrat.

    She said: “MKO had friends who seemed like friends, but they disappeared when the problems started and only started calling us when this award thing came last week. The phones have been ringing, but 25 years is enough to know your friends. I want to thank Mr Femi Falana, Prof. Pat Utomi and a few others for standing by us in the past 25 years.

    “There is another story. MKO had this classmate who he used to assist even to pay his fees in school. But after June 12, he was the first person to say that MKO was not the Messiah. And he was president for eight years and couldn’t even mention MKO for once. He couldn’t honour him.

    “We thank Buhari for this. He does things differently from the way the average Nigerian elite does things. If there is anything that means a lot to me, it is because MKO was true to the Nigerian people. If he had betrayed that mandate, he would have died a broken man and no amount of wealth would have made him happy.

    “I have just being thinking about MKO. To have known him was to know greatness in the body of a Nigerian. MKO came from a very poor family. He used to be a singer, a drummer and boxer. People just gave him money not because this voice was good, but perhaps they just took pity on him, a destitute singer”.

    Also speaking, Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s son, Mohammed said: “I am overwhelmed by this event organized in honour of my late father. It has made me to recognise that we should not always think of ourselves but of our neighbours. My father was a very unusual man”.

  • Traders escape death as Kerosene explode

    50 shops razed, one die, three injured

     

    Traders at Evbuotubu market on Tuesday escaped death by the whiskers when kerosene exploded at a section of the market.

    Some traders were said to have been injured but the fire that erupted spread rapidly to other parts of the market and razed over 50 shops.

    A source at the market said the explosion caused confusion among the traders who scampered for safety leaving their wares.

    It was gathered that the fire started when a kerosene dealer wanted to test the products she just bought if they were a mixture of diesel or fuel.

    Witnesses said the vendor identified as Mama Chichi struck a matches over a gallon of kerosene and the gallon exploded.

    The witnesses said the explosion extended to the shop of a woman selling palm oil which made the fire to spread rapidly.

    Mama Chichi was said to have died from injuries sustained from the fire that engulfed her. Two others were said to have been admitted at a hospital.

    Read Also: Traders seek Ambode’s intervention over market’s planned demolition

    According to a witness, “The woman wanted to test the kerosene she bought if it was killer kerosene. So she took a stick of match, strike it over the gallon of kerosene and the gallon exploded extending to other gallons. The fire also extended to the woman selling palm oil close to her and the market was on fire.

    The source said delay in the arrival of the men of the Edo State Fire Service made the fire to spread.

    Drivers at a motor- park closed to the market quickly fled with their vehicles.

    Many of the traders refused to speak as they said they were saddened by the incident.

    Director of the Edo Fire Service, Franklyn Agbonlahor, said nobody died in the inferno.

    Agbonlahor said the bad roads leading to the market caused delay of his men at arriving at the scene.

    He said, “Our men responded promptly. We invited other Fire services and they were there. The terrain was bad. We have to pass through some difficult lanes to get to the market.”

  • Obaseki advocates Bottom–up approach to governance

    …As Edo APC retreat begins

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has recommended a Bottom–up approach to governance which he said will ensure the speedy development of the country.

    Obaseki made the submission while declaring open the Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Executive Retreat in Benin City, on Friday, June 8, 2018.

    “We cannot continue to operate the top-down approach to governance which over the years has not delivered the dividends of democracy to the base. This accounts for why we have continued to record crises in most communities today,” he told his fellow party men and women at the event.

    Read Also: Obaseki plans special intervention fund for Uhunmwode LGA

    The governor advised: “Let us use the logic of democracy to govern, which is government of the people, by the people and for the people. We need to provide for the people at the base. We need to go to them, empower them because they elected us to serve them.”

    He further urged: “Let us go back to the basis and start ward development, let us get people who live in those wards to organise themselves and tell us what their needs are, and what the government needs to do.”

    Obaseki challenged the state APC executives to use the opportunity of the 2-day retreat to brainstorm and come up with sustainable models that would drive governance at the grassroots, and which will serve as models for other states of the country.

    “I charge you to interrogate, discuss the nature, structure, financing models and management, as well as the role of the APC party and politics in general, in an emerging democracy. You must now give the people a reason to vote for our great party,” he said.

  • Forest depletion: Obaseki raises alarm, commits to preservation

    …Regenerate Edo forest assets

    …assures of new law, policy to check trend 

     

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said the state government has resolved to take proactive steps to regenerate and preserve the state’s forest assets to conform to global practices.

    Obaseki said this after receiving the report from the 16-man Advisory Committee on Forestry, inaugurated in April to assist the state develop effective frameworks in managing her forest assets in line with international best practice with focus on forest reservation, preservation, conservation and regeneration based on a report presented by Pro-Forest.

    He said the state’s forest assets require urgent action on regeneration, noting, “An executive bill for a law on forest regeneration has to go to Edo State House of Assembly and we will not waste time in implementing the law.”

    Read Also: Obaseki, World Bank, step up consultation

    He said the state government would study recommendations made by the committee and lead conversation around forest regeneration, adding, “We will come up with policy guidelines and action plan based on the recommendations before the end of June.

    “We must do something urgently on forest reservation. Our advantage is that we have a history and something to fall back to on forest reservation. It is our responsibility to restore our forests.”

    Chairman of the 16-man Advisory Committee, Dr. Felix Idumah, said the committee was set up because of the governor’s concern about rejuvenating the state’s forestry assets.

    He said findings in the report revealed a high level of degradation, deforestation and depletion of the state’s forest resources, noting, “The forest assets are no longer there. If nothing is done to halt the trend, we will not have any forest.”

  • ADP denies merger rumours

    Edo State chapter of the Action Democratic Party  (ADP) has denied rumours that it was in merger talks with other political parties.

    It said many aspirants have indicated interest to contest in the party primaries ahead of next year’s general elections.

    National Youth Leader of the party, Prince Edobor Oghosa, who spoke at an event to mark  the party’s one year anniversary said the party would soon receive defectors from other political parties.

    “We can assure you that ADP is a party that has come to stay. So many groups  and few political parties have been in talks with us.

    “We are engaging at different levels of discussion and we can assure you that ADP has come to stay,” he said.

    Also read : 2019 polls: political parties to sign code of conduct

    State Chairman of the party, Mr. George Oloruntobi, informed the party members that three credible persons have indicated interest to contest the presidency under the ADP platform.

    George stated that the implosion expected within the APC would help the party to victory in 2019.

    He said the party would  consolidate its spread in line with its continuous campaign and propagating its manifesto to the people.

    “As we speak, we have not less than three presidential aspirants and any of them will shock Nigerians by winning the election by 2019″he said.

  • ‘National Assembly playing hungry throat politics’

    A chief in Auchi kingdom, Alhaji Usman Abudah, has described Tuesday’s impeachment threat to President Muhammadu Buhari by the National Assembly as action of “hungry throat politicians.”

    Abudah said the resolution was a package of “idle representatives of Nigerians.”

    He told newsmen in Benin City that the attitude of the lawmakers towards the purchase of 12 Tucano aircraft to enable the Nigerian military fight insurgency exposed the nonchalant attitude of the lawmakers towards the welfare of Nigerians.

    He said: “Mr President is supervising all the security agencies involved in the war against Boko Haram and is providing the needed weaponry. One is at a loss as to what the legislators want Mr President to do. To go and pick up his soldiering uniforms and match to war?

    Read Also: National Assembly draws battle line with Presidency

    “I want to believe that our politicians should realize their functions and those of the Commander in-chief pertaining to the safety of this nation. Were it in developed countries, the senate President ought to have stepped down from his position until the cases he is being tried for are concluded.

    “While I am not advocating for sanity to put into place through military coup, I responsibly re-quest our elected representatives to behave by not threatening President Muhammadu Buhari with impeachment even when themselves are not behaving better.

    “Why must they kill themselves at various levels of intimidating President Buhari with those resolutions, is nothing short of hungry throat politics. Appearing in well starched outfits is not a sincere demonstration of showing concern for the safety of the nation” he stated.

  • FG donates relief materials to IDPs in Edo

    …As Obaseki makes case for Libya returnees

     

    The National Logistics Committee on Distribution of Relief Materials has donated relief items to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) being accommodated in Edo State.

    Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Azarema Abdulkadir, disclosed this when he led members of the committee on a courtesy visit to Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki at Government House, Benin City.

    Noting that the donation marks the fifth round of distribution of relief materials to the IDPs in the state, he said the relief materials include; “10,653 bags of 50kg of rice; 33 cartons of 400mg tin of tomato paste; 1,232 cartons of 70mg of tomato paste; 210 pieces of five litre gallons of vegetable oil and 40 pieces of two litre bottles of vegetable oil.”

    Other items are: “5,822 small cartons of Lucozade boost drinks; 993 cartons of Eva soap; 4 cartons of liquid soap; 11 cartons of tablet soap; 329 bales of second-hand clothes and 2,159 pieces of shoes.”

    Read Also:Customs donates 10, 653 bags of rice, other items to Benin IDPs

    Abdulkadir expressed appreciation to state government and people for accommodating persons displaced by the ongoing insurgency in the North East, as the Federal Government continues to make efforts to restore peace in the region.

    “The judicious distribution of the materials by officials in the camp would have tremendous impact on the lives of the IDPs,” he added.

    Governor Godwin Obaseki, who lauded efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government in providing succour to the IDPs, urged the committee to include returnees who are victims of human trafficking in their programme.

    He said, “One of the challenges the state government is dealing with is the resettling and reintegration programme for 3,000 returnees who are victims of human trafficking. We are expecting about 6,000 others. 

    Obaseki assured the committee that the state government will ensure equitable distribution of the relief materials to the IDPs. 

    He urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to also ensure that materials donated are properly stored to prevent damage.

     

     

  • Tenants vanish with landlord’s children in Edo

    Two female tenants identified as Mercy and Rose have reportedly disappeared with two children of their landlord at Utese village in Ovia North East local government area.

    Names of the children were given as Amada aged four and Christable aged two.

    They were said to have been left in the custody of the tenants by their mother who went to the stream to wash her clothes.

    The tenants who hailed from Cross River State were said to have moved to the community about three weeks ago and told their landlord that they do farm work and also engaged in hair making.

    When their room was broken into, it was discovered that they took their few belongings and vanished.

    Residents in the community told the distraught parents that they saw them stopping vehicles on the highway and they thought they were taking the children out as usual.

    Speaking to newsmen in Benin City, mother of the missing children, Faith Osaruoname, said she used to leave her children with the tenants whenever she is going out.

    Faith stated that she went to the stream with her eldest daughter and when she came back, she was told that the children went out with the children.

    She said it was when her husband returned that it dawned on her that the tenants have fled with her two daughters.

    “I thought the girls will soon return home with my children so I went to cook. After cooking, I wanted to go and get some water again when my husband came back.

    “He asked me about the children and I told him they went out with the tenants. I later ran out to look for them but did find them. I have been calling the numbers of those girls and they were switched off.”

    Father of the children, Omokpia Osaruoname, said he has reported the matter at the Okada Police Division.

    Omokpia said he was surprised when his two daughters did not come out to welcome him home.

    He stated that he was further shocked when his wife told him she has not seen the children since when she returned from the stream.

    His words, “I went to Benin by 8am. I left my wife and children at home with the tenants that have not spent up to three weeks. Their mother said she was going to the stream so she left the children with the tenants. My wife said she returned at about 5pmand did not see the children.

    “I said at 7pm my children are still not back. My wife ran out and started looking for them. She later called that they said the tenants have ran away with my children.

    “People said they saw them stopping taxi. We went to various police check points and the Okada Police Division.

    “One is a hairdresser. They don’t have any shop. They begged me to give them a shop in my house and I told them to wait till the end of the year. Some boys in our area who are their boyfriends used to come and see them.

    “They said their brother lives in the next village but I have not seen him before. I don’t have their photographs; I don’t know anything about them. They don’t have any property except for carpet, curtains and few clothes.”