Godwin Obaseki, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, spoke with Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU in Benin City, the state capital, on his plans, the push for a government of continuity, the chances of his party at the poll, how to avert violence during the election, and other issues.
In this electioneering, what message are you sending to the people of Edo State?
It is a message of hope; that an All Progressives Congress (APC) government of continuity is the best for Edo State. We have engaged the people during the campaigns. We have been very strategic. We started with the primaries. We had a party primary that was hotly contested. Realistically, I gave been campaigning in the last 16 weeks. But, taking about the September election, we have been campaigning for two weeks. We have submitted our applications, for myself and my running mate, to the INEC two weeks ago. That was when the campaign started effectively. We had a rally at Ogbe Stadium where we affirmed the supremacy and dominance of the APC in Edo State. All the APC governors attended the event to show their presence and support. They all accompanied me to His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, Edaiken Uselu; to present me as the candidate of the party. We then came to the stadium. It was an epoch-making campaign. No fewer than 20 thousand people would have attended. Despite the massive rain, they stayed throughout the campaign. We have commenced our senatorial campaigns. You were privy to the one in Auchi yesterday. You could see the response from our party faithful and the electorate. It was not a hired crowd. They were APC stalwarts and APC followers, who when the message was sent, they all trooped out and were at the campaign for four hours before we arrived. That tells you the commitment of the people to the APC and the nature of fanatical fellowship we have in Edo State.
So far, the campaign has been smooth. But, we are now planning to take the campaign to the grassroots; to meet our people where they live. We are not a party that play its politics on the podium. We are taking it to where the people live. We will go door-to-door; to explain to them what is going on in our economy, that they need to persevere and that with the reforms being embarked upon by President Muhammadu Buhari, stabilising the security of the country and stopping the bleeding and corruption in the system, and beginning to inject new life and blood into the economy, we need to go to the grassroots to give them a message of hope and tell them that, even if we build infrastructures, we re-engineer the state to build accountability, provide food for their stomach and that we have a plan to do it and we have actually started.
We know what Governor Adams Oshiomhole has done. What is your concrete plan for the state?
We want to assure that we are continuing on our projects. The first thing was to recover the state from a group of political brigands who have taken over the state and pillage the state. Having done that, by ensuring that we have a government that has a sense of accountability; accountable to its people, we have been able to put in place a plan for development. We have built infrastructure in the state. But, having not built infrastructure in the past, what we have done in the last seven years was like a tip of the ice bag. There is so much more infrastructure we need to build, particularly roads. Our core goal this time around is to begin to rebuild the economy, put food on the table of our people and galvanise our women to be more productive, ensure that the education we give to our children is one that will give them employment and self-sufficiency. So, what Comrade Oshiomhole has done is to, in a sense, built a solid foundation; foundation that can carry a sky scrapper. My role now is to build on the foundation and take it to the first level so that the beauty of the house will begin to unfold. What I am going to do is to focus on the economy. The greatest challenge and the most urgent duty today is economic growth. We have to create jobs, sustainable jobs. How is that going to happen? First, the downturn in the upstream sector in itself has created an opportunity for the country. We don’t have the foreign exchange to import the 30 billion dollar worth of goods and services which we consume in Nigeria. But, knowing that, our role is to ensure that these goods and services which we consume are done in Edo State. That will require creating an enabling environment for investors to come in and produce here. What are those things we consume? The first thing we consume most is food. We spend 15 billion US dollars every year to import food items. We spend about 500 million dollars every year importing fish and chickens. We spend about two billion dollars importing rice. These are things we can start producing in a state like Edo today. It takes a government that understands; a governor who has been in the productive sector, somebody who understands how investors make decisions, to attract them, nurture them, support them and motivate them to participate so that they can produce. Another key area is building materials; cement, tyres, iron rods, steel. By the grace of God, because of our unique location and the opportunities we have, Edo is one of the states today where you have the lowest energy cost because we have gas. We have a transmission capacity. A lot of electricity is transmitted into the network, which is resident in Edo State. That is why the Chinese companies are beginning to look at Edo because we have the raw materials, the electricity and the closeness to their market exists here. We are looking at the area of services, education. We are rebuilding our primary school infrastructure, we are rebuilding our secondary school infrastructure. We are now focusing on our technical education, both in terms of infrastructure and quality so that we can begin to train the young men and women who will be attached to these industries and investors. We will have adequate training and manpower. So, for us, it is about moving development to the next level. We have built some of the infrastructure. We will build more, especially roads. We want to attract investors because we have infrastructure; we are going to build more; and the market for the goods a d services exists in Edo.
Could you shed light on your plan to create 2,000 jobs?
When we say we will create 2,000 jobs, that is the minimum. It is our starting point. We want to take the kids out of the streets. We want to put them into productive work. How do we intend to do that? We have just given out hectres of land to private investors; large companies; to undertake commercial farming. We also do processing. So, we are working closely with them so that within the next few months, they will begin productive activities. They are doing their area mapping, they are doing their soil analysis. And we are actively monitoring and supporting them. So, we hope in the next few months, these people will bring tractors and other earth moving equipment to clear the land. For every hectre of land, you need about two people to work at the minimum. If you give out 150 hectres for cultivation over a period of time, it gives you an idea how much work will be generated. We have to set up agric centres. people have to be trained to man the tractors, service the tractors and other equipment that will be required. These investors are not going to do the farming themselves. They are going to create small, pieces of farms given to people to grow crops. These are opportunities. But, we need a government and a governor who has the knowledge and the experience to support private businesses for these to happen. You have somebody who has the administrative capacity and who understands how government works to re-engineer government and to ensure that these policies take root. That is the unique advantage i currently have.
In the last seven years, what has Governor Oshiomhole done to justify the push for power retention and continuity by the APC in Edo State?
Before Oshiomhole, what was the power arrangement in Edo State? And how did the ordinary man benefit from that power arrangement? If you look at it from that angle, you will understand and appreciate the significant changes we have made in the power structure. A group of chieftains cannot sit down and decide who should have power and retain power in the state anymore. The decision in a democracy has to be made by the people. So, we pursued aggressively the whole concept of one man, one vote. The people’s participation in politics is the first change we brought. Having done that, we ensured that people who have power are accountable to the people that gave them the power by reporting to them what they have done with power, which has translated into the infrastructure we have built in the education system, in the health care system. But, it is still work in progress. the struggle today is that the same cabal that dragged Edo into the pit wants to come back and reclaim the state. So, there is the need for the sustenance of continuity in that political arrangement. The danger of not doing it is high and the price will be too high for us to pay. If you kill a snake and you don’t cut off its head, it will come back to attack you viciously with its venom.
What experience qualifies you for the role you aspire to play in the life of Edo State?
I have had over 34 years of working experience, most of it in the private sector. I have worked in established companies. I have set up my own company which has been successful. But, specifically, in terms of pubic service, in the last seven years of the Oshiomhole administration, I have been an integral part of the administration. Integral in the sense that I was one of those who convinced Comrade Oshiomhole to even come to Edo State. Having done that, I have been with him and supported the administration from day one. immediately after the swearing in, before the commissioners and other political appointees were hired, I was with him. I served with him, to interview the first set of commissioners that were appointed seven and half years ago. Since then, I have been an integral part of his policy arrangements and frameworks. The Economic Team has been an integral part of the policy formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in the last seven and half years in Edo State. There is nobody who I don’t know in the entire political arrangement in Edo State. And I did not do this for money. I told the governor from the beginning that, I Godwin Obaseki wanted to pay to serve and not to be paid. So, I was keen to know how government works, and why despite the resources we have in this country, we have continued to lag behind. So, the motivation was to come in, bring in my private sector experience, try and understand what is going on and see how i could support and help policy formulation and implementation with the experience I have garnered from the private sector.
So, to answer your question specifically, I think today, the experience I have from the private sector, and particularly in the public sector in the last seven years, more than qualifies me to understand and deal with the challenges of governance that Edo and Nigeria face today. The challenge of governance in Nigeria today will not only require political dexterity, it will require an understanding of development, how to make things work, how to execute policies and programmes, on how to source for investments, how to attract public and private investment to grow our economy.
In the light of the above, how would you assess yourself as a core technocrat in relation to your opponent, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who is perceived as a core politician?
I don’t understand what you mean by a core politician because I don’t see what he has done that we have not accomplished since we got into this race. I won my primary. Ize-Iyamu on his own has never contested any election before. So, both of us contested elections at the same time. I don’t know how they run their own party. But, the whole world saw how we ran our own primary. So, for me, I don’t think his political skills surpass mine as we have demonstrated them in this race. but, what I have over and above him is that he doesn’t have a fraction of the experience that I have. In terms of his personal development, I don’t think he is at par with the type of experience I have. But, even in governance, if you compare both of us, he had the opportunity of spending much time and wielding much influence in the government of Lucky Igbinedion. And we are all living witnesses to the disaster they brought to the people of Edo State. He was the engine that drove the Igbinedion administration and they drove us into a ditch. I, on the other hand, am the engine that has driven this current administration. And see where we are. So, in terms of comparism, we are poles apart. We will test it out on September 10. from what I know, I don’t think they have anything to offer us. We have tested them before and we regretted ever doing that and we will not repeat the mistake.
The PDP has alleged that the governor swung the pendulum of victory towards your direction at the primary so that his successor could cover up for him after leaving office…
That us propaganda. That is what they are good at. For them, it is about cries, innuendos, lying. I am doing everything I can; focusing on the people. They are very good in propaganda. I wish they could have the skill to assist in the development of the state. But, they have negative skills. The current administration has nothing to cover up. Absolutely nothing. Don’t forget, we were an opposition state. For seven and half years, and with the PDP in government at the centre, they sent not less than 12 EFCC team here to investigate us so that they could find something to nail the administration of Oshiomhole. To date, they have not been able to substantiate any allegation they have made in the last sen and half years. The truth is that we have been working for the people. The records are there. We have nothing to hide. The process of governance is transparent. The way we have spend public fund is obvious in the output process. We have absolutely nothing to hide. If we had anything to hide, when they were in power, they would have found it. They couldn’t find anything up to a year ago. For us, it is sheer propaganda. We have nothing to cover up. What we have focused on is continuity and to take Edo fro where we are to a higher level. That is why I am in the race. I believe having worked with the governor in the last seven and half years, I deserved to be supported by the governor.
It has also been alleged that you are part of efforts to inflate contracts, thereby increasing the cost projects in the state…
A man will assume other people will behave the way he behaves. The way the PDP understands and knows how to govern is the way they think other people will behave. This is where they miss it. The World Bank has extended its loans to Edo and Lagos states. This indicates that they believe that we are a serious state, a serious people. we have undertaken enduring reforms. According to the guidelines on the loan agreement, all our contracts above N10 million are published on our website. So, how have contracts been inflated? The total amount of money we have used to build the gamut of infrastructure in the last seven and half years; we have built several kilometres of roads, In the next seven years, we don’t have to maintain them. Look at the quality of the refurbishment that has been done in our schools. Look at the central hospital we are building. It looks like a five star. The totality of the cost of the projects is less than the cost of that Airport road which the PDP government built. So, because of the way they have behaved in the past, they don’t know that the progressive government in Edo always goes for value for money. We earn a quarter of what some of our neighbouring PDP states earn. But, it is on record that we have more capital projects than they do. That is the culture of the PDP. It is a culture of corruption, a culture of impunity, a culture of waste. therefore, you cannot get value out of it. They talk from their own cultural perspective. Therefore, their expectation is that everybody will behave the same way they behave. But, the contrary is the case in Edo. And that is what we want to continue.
Now that the revenue allocation from the Federation Account is dwindling, how do you intend to boost internally generated revenue in Edo State?
We thank God that when the other PDP states were sleeping and hoping that they will continue to get their largess from the centre, progressive states like Lagos and Edo took the bull by the horn. it was a very difficult decision. today, our IGR is what is sustaining us. In the last six months, the allocation from Abuja has progressively gone down. In the last three months, our IGR has been in excess of our allocation from Abuja. And we expect that much is not going to change radically. But, we have been able to pay salaries. We are continuing to pay our contractors on site. We have cut down on other important expenditures. We focus on critical expenditure. We spend prudently. To grow our IGR, we are now focusing on attracting private investment because the larger component of the IGR is Pay As You Earn. so, the more people that come him, locate and employ your citizens, the more PAYE you will get. So, with the present steps we have taken to attract investors, we will be able to get more PAYE.
We have done well in terms of taxation. But, only a limited number of Edo citizens currently pay tax. The total number of people in our tax net is less than 150,000 out of the population of almost three million. What we will do is to make the tax system fairer to get people who benefit from government services to pay something to sustain the government. So, we will continue to work on a fairer tax system so that the tax system is not burdensome on the people and so, we will be able to get more people to pay their taxes. As they contribute, they will ask questions on how their money is being spent. We in this administration has been able to answer that. The PDP government has not been able to answer questions on how it has spent public money.
How united is the Edo State APC?
Edo APC is very united. I am very happy to be a member of the APC. Yes, we fought a very difficult and tough primary. I can assure you today that I and all my co-aspirants are now working together. we have just finished a meeting where we were fine tuning the various committees in my campaign organisation. almost all of them have nominated their people, coordinators, to work in my campaign organisation. That tell you how united we have become. Gen. Airhiavbhere, we speak regularly. All of them-Prof. Osunbor, Peter Esele. We were at the stadium during the flag off of the rally. The deputy governor was there. Chris Ogienwnonyo couldn’t make it because he had to travel to the United States. So, I will saym by and large, we have healed the wounds. We will build an inclusive and large party and there will be a place for everybody to continue to participate.
How did your running mate emerge, because there are indications that some people are against his emergence?
We had to look at our political reality. We even had to look at the issue of loyalty to a course. There are few of us who started this with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, from the days of struggle in 2006, and Philip Shuaibu is one of them. There are two sides of the same coin. While I was thinking about stabilising government, thinking through policies and the economic sustenance, they held the political levers. He was in the House of Assembly as the Majority Leader and you knew what he did for us to dislodge the PDP from the House of Assembly for us to have dominance. If we are talking about continuity, political issues still dodge us. We still have to deal with those issues while focusing on delivering the goods to our people. Philip is somebody I have always worked with in this administration. We have always worked together pursuing a common objective, working with the comrade governor. So, he is not a stranger.
Apart from that, he comes from a constituency that has a very large population in term of voting. The Etsako in Edo North is significant. Don’t forget, it has about 55 per cent of the voting population. Edo South has another 30 or 35 per cent. And the Central has the remaining. So, in terms of the political calculation, there is a huge political advantage in getting someone from that district to run with you. But, that is not to say that there are no good candidates from other zones. The political structure and apparatus is quite comfortable with Philip. I am comfortable with him. He brings a lot of value and youthful energy into our campaign. Whether we like it or not, the political landscape is changing. We will continue to refresh and open up that space. I and Philip running for the governor and deputy governor of Edo State should inspire other people, even if they have not spent 40 years in politics. That kind of freshness is what we hope our candidacy will engender.
Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki are from Benin area. In terms of choice, what does that portends for Benin in this electioneering?
I will rather want to talk about Edo State because we are all Edos. Fundamentally, whether you are Benin, Isan, Etsako, Akoko-Edo, we are all from Edo State. I don’t want to see my candidacy very narrowly. I want to be governor of Edo State. In terms of where we come from, we come from the same place. We share the same background. Our families are very well known in this state. Our grandparents have history of public service. In fact, one of his uncles was my father’s best friend. So, if you understand the family relationship in Benin, we are closely knit. We are either related by marriage or we have some things in common. For me, that is not the issue. We should look at the person, his competence his capacity to deliver to Edo people. The fact of just being a Benin man is not sufficient. You just have to be an Edo man who has the competence and capacity to do what is good for the Edo people.
How can we avert violence during the election?
The only way we can avert violence is to appeal to the PDP because violence is their stick in trade. We know even during the continuous voter registration, they had already resorted to violence. They went to neighbouring states to recruit people to come and register in Edo State for the purpose of election. You could see what they did in Rivers State, in Bayelsa. They have their boys and they want to bring them to cause and cause mayhem in Edo. The only way to avoid violence is to plead and appeal to the PDP so that we can have a fair and rancour free election. Our primary was peaceful in the APC. But, that is not the culture of my opponent. My opponent was weaned in the politics of violence. That’s the danger that we face. I am hoping that the INEC will call a meeting when we will all talk about the code of conduct for the election. We know our supporters are not violent people. We know them. Our rallies are peaceful despite the huge crowd. We are not a party of violent people. Only the PDP has a culture of violence, election rigging, manipulation, guns. We as progressives are different. Since they know that they cannot win, their plan is to disrupt voting where they know they cannot win. If we are not to have violence, we should appeal to the PDP to shun their culture of violence.
What is your message to the people of Edo State as they warm up for the election?
The message is simple. The election is September can be simplified in two ways. First, Edo people are being asked to make a very simple decision. You have tested the PDP administration. You have tested the APC administration. Which one has been better for you? Do you want to go back to those dark days? Or do you want to move forward, to continue what we started in the last seven and half years? It is a simple decision that we need to make. Do you want to go back or do you want to move forward? I am sure my people are smart. They know the decision to make.
