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Tag: Godwin Obaseki

  • Obaseki rejects EFF award

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has rejected an award offered to him by the Edo State Football Federation.

    Governor Obaseki said he does not receive awards as a Governor and the one to be presented by the football body would not be an exception.

    Obaseki rejected the award at a party where he feted members of the Bendel Insurance Football Club for qualifying to the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) after 11 years relegation.

    The Edo Governor who urged the team to give account of themselves in the NPFL said the team lived up to the challenge thrown at them at the unveiling of the re-branded club in 2018.

    Bendel Insurance qualified to the NPFL after picking nine points at the Nigeria National League (NNL) Super 8 Playoffs.

    Obaseki announced N25m cash reward for the players and N5m for the supporters club

    Read Also: Obaseki meets contractors on revamp of 230 schools

    He challenged the team to win the Premier League in this season.

    His words, “I am happy for this new year’s present you have given me and the state. Nothing can be better than this. I asked you to do your best and be promoted to NPFL, that you have achieved. For this feat and victory, I will give you N25 million.”

    “The supporters’ club will get N5 million for doing a great job supporting the club all the way to victory. The team will get a new bus, while the supporters’ club will get one as well. Obaseki, who rejected award giving to him by the Edo State Football Federation, said, as governor, he doesn’t receive awards.

    “I don’t receive reward for now, your award can’t be an exception. I will not receive it but will only receive it from you when you win the Nigeria Premier League this season.”

    Edo Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu, who was tasked with leading the team to victory informed the Governor that they have fulfilled the mandate he gave them.

    “You asked us to go to Aba to conquer and we went there and have achieved that feat by winning our three matches. We have gone around Benin City with the victorious boys and they have been appreciated by the people of the state,” Shaibu said.

     

  • Obaseki to electorates: I need trusted lawmakers in NASS

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has explained to Edo voters why he needed people he could trust to be elected to the National Assembly.

    Obaseki said it would make governance smooth and easy as well as attract more dividends of democracy.

    Speaking at a campaign rally in Egor local government area, Governor Obaseki said the choice of Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonnayima and Hon Patrick Obahiagbon for the House of Representatives (Egor/Ikpoba-Okha) and Edo South senatorial district respectively was to ensure proper working synergy.

    Read Also:  Obaseki celebrates with Godwin Abbe at 70

    Governor Obaseki urged the electorates in Egor to make 2019 the end of PDP in Edo by voting for all APC candidates.

    According to him, “If you say I am a performing Governor but I need people I can trust to perform better for you.

    “Hon Agbonnayima has been tried and tested. We can’t afford not to return him to the National Assembly. He is a force and he can make us proud.”

    Agbonnayima said Governor Obaseki needs support of the National Assembly to get access to loans to fix roads.

  • Obaseki fetes Bendel Insurance, tasks team on NPFL title

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has celebrated Bendel Insurance Football Club for qualifying to the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), charging the team to give account of themselves in the topflight division.

    Bendel Insurance qualified to the NPFL after picking maximum 9 points at the Nigeria National League (NNL) Super 8 Playoffs, ending 11 years relegation.

    The governor who hosted the victorious team at Government House, said the team has lived up to the challenge thrown at them at the unveiling of the re-branded club in 2018.

    He charged the team to ensure that they put in their best to win the Premier League.

    “I am happy for this new year’s present you have given me and the state. Nothing can be better than this. I asked you to do your best and be promoted to NPFL, that you have achieved. For this feat and victory, I will give you N25 million.”

    “The supporters’ club will get N5 million for doing a great job supporting the club all the way to victory,” Obaseki said.

    The governor promised that in addition to the cash gifts, the team will get a new bus, while the supporters’ club will get one as well, noting, “These buses will provide comfort to the club and the supporters whenever they are traveling for matches.”

    Obaseki, who rejected award giving to him by the Edo State Football Federation, said, as governor, he doesn’t receive awards.

    “I don’t receive reward for now, your award can’t be an exception. I will not receive it but will only receive it from you when you win the Nigeria Premier League this season.”

    Earlier, the Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, who presented the players of the team to the governor, said that they were in Government House to inform the governor that they have fulfilled the mandate he gave them.

    “You asked us to go to Aba to conquer and we went there and have achieved that feat by winning our three matches. We have gone around Benin City with the victorious boys and they have been appreciated by the people of the state,” Shaibu said.

    He urged for support for the team to spur them to win the NPFL, which is the new target given to them by the governor.

    The team’s coach, Monday Odigie, thanked the governor and his deputy for the great support and encouragement, adding, “We thank Edo State Government, the players, fans and the media for this great feat. We will do our best to win the NPFL.”

  • Obaseki celebrates with Godwin Abbe at 70

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has led other members of the state’s Executive Council to felicitate with Maj. Gen. Godwin Osagie Abbe (Rtd.) as he celebrates his 70th birthday.

    In a sermon titled ‘The Grace of God’ drawn from the Bible book, 1st Corinthians 15:10, delivered at the thanksgiving service to mark the birthday, at the United Baptist Mission in Benin City, Primate of the United Baptist Mission of Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Dr. Osama Usuanlele described the retired Army General as a man that has been guided by God’s grace throughout his life.

    The Primate added that Maj. Gen. Abbe is full of human kindness and has not misused power to oppress the downtrodden, noting, “He is dependable, a good and selfless man who touches lives. He loves God and has done so much for the body of Christ. I urge you to continue in the Lord as you celebrate 70 years today, may God add more years to your age to enable you to do more for humanity.”

    Read Also: PDP accuses Obaseki of defrauding farmers in Edo

    Rt. Rev. Usuanlele commended governor Obaseki for finding time out of his busy schedule to felicitate with the celebrant. He extolled the leadership style of Obaseki who he described as a servant governor.

    He noted that the governor has used power with purpose and has continued to impact on the lives of Edo people through various developmental projects that have impacted positively on the people and contributed to the development of the state.

    Abbe, who was enlisted into the Nigerian Army in 1967, was military governor of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. He served as Minister of Interior and Defence and Chairman of the Amnesty Planning Committee under the late President Umaru Yar’adua Administration.

  • I didn’t defraud farmers, Obaseki replies PDP

    Edo Sate Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has denied allegations by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party that he did not defraud farmers in the State.

    Governor Obaseki warned the PDP to leave him out of their ‘predictable and cheap smear campaign,’ and urged them to focus on the weighty issues that impact on the lives of the people.

    Obaseki who spoke in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, cautioned the PDP to tell the people what they intend to do for them and not drag him into their smear campaigns.

    He said his programme is anchored on the development of the state and its people while his mandate is to run an issues-based campaign.

    Governor Obaseki said the PDP was making spurious allegations about a non-existent fraud which he noted showed its lack of understanding of governance.

    Read Also: Obaseki meets contractors on revamp of 230 schools

    According to the governor’s aide, “It is not hard to see that the PDP has been undone by the fact that they are faced with a purposeful, well-run and transparent government. Hence, they have gone to town with a fictitious story about a non-existent fraud allegation in government that exists only in their imagination. For the records, we make bold to say that the alleged fraud does not exist.

    “The records are there to show what the Governor Obaseki-led government has done and continues to do for the people of Edo state, from job creation to infrastructural development, investment promotion and industrialisation, which all residents in the state can readily testify to, in the governor’s efforts at repositioning the state for prosperity. That is what we are campaigning with this season.”

     

  • PDP accuses Obaseki of defrauding farmers in Edo

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of using the Central Bank of Nigeria Anchor Borrowers Scheme to defraud farmers in the State.

    It alleged Governor Obaseki asked farmers to pay the sum of N2000 into a Sterling Bank account as one of the criteria to benefit from the scheme.

    The PDP said Obaseki ended up ripping the farmers of billions of naira while the farmers did not get any loan.

    State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, who stated this at a campaign rally of the party in Abudu, headquarters of Orhionmwon local government area  urged Obaseki to fulfill the promise to the farmers or refund their money.

    Chief Orbih, who received defectors from the All Progressives Congress, told the people of Abudu to vote for all candidates of the PDP for a better Nigeria.

    Read Also: PDP members join APC in Akwa Ibom

    Orbih said the re-election of Senator Matthew Urhoghide would give Edo South a ranking senator status and possibility of a principal officer in the senate.

    He said the manifesto of the APC has dashed the hopes of Nigerians.

    Senator Urhoghide who reeled out his achievements informed the people that his move to turn the College of Education located at Abudu into a Federal University of Education has scaled through second reading.

    Urhoghide said the election is battle between the PDP and visible underdevelopment, hunger and suffering currently being experienced in the country.

    He urged the people to re-elect him so he could add to to the existing constituency projects he attracted to the locality.

  • Obaseki sees growth driver in Egina oil field

    Amid cautious economic projections for the nation’s economy by experts in the new year, Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has assured that the recent addition of Egina production facility to the bouquet of income streams in the country, will sustain growth in the oil sector.

    Obaseki in his 2019 Budget Speech at the Edo State House of Assembly, said: “Our expectation for growth in 2019 is an expansion of 2.5% in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an improvement over the expected growth of 2.1% in 2018.”

    He added that “While crude oil price may decline, we hope that the increase in oil production to 2.3mbp/d due to additional output from areas like the Egina field, will sustain growth in the oil sector.”

    The Egina deepwater oilfield achieved first oil production, recently, helping to push Nigeria’s oil output beyond 2.09 million barrels per day in December.

    According to Total, the field, which is located around 1,600 meters of water depths, 150 kilometres off the coast of Nigeria, started up production on December 29, 2018.

    At plateau, the Egina field will produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents about 10 per cent of Nigeria’s production, a statement on the Total’s website said.

    Total described the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit used to develop the giant Egina field as the largest one it had ever built, and added that the project also involved a record level of local contractors.

    The governor further said that “In the non-oil sector, we expect a sustained positive performance in manufacturing and services due to higher consumer spending (as higher government revenues which are ensuring the settlement of outstanding salary obligations across states and a new minimum wage, will boost household income).

    Read Also: Lassa Fever: Obaseki tasks local councils on sanitation

    “In agriculture, we expect a boost in 2019 as governments move to enhance stability and productivity in this sector.”

    Obaseki’s positive outlook dovetails with the views of experts at Vetiva Research in their analysis of Nigeria’s economic trends in 2019.

    “With a growth Projection of 2.7 per cent year-on-year, we expect Nigeria’s economy to accelerate in 2019, driven by likely election spending and continued recovery in the manufacturing and services sectors,” Vetiva analysts said.

    Commenting on the outlook for the global economy, analysts at Goldman Sachs said: “The global economy looks poised to slow moderately from 3.8% in 2018 to 3.5% in 2019, led by deceleration in the US and further softening in China.

    “But with growth still above potential in most developed economies, Goldman Sachs Research expects continued labour market tightening, gradually rising core inflation, and in many cases higher policy rates.

  • AAU Ekpoma to begin Tianjin varsity’ engineering programme

    As part of the unfolding reforms initiated by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in the education sector, all is set for the mounting of a Department of Chemical Engineering at the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, in partnership with Tianjin University, China’s oldest higher institution.

    According to the governor, the partnership with the Chinese university,  is targeted at promoting Research and Development (R&D) and the strengthening of capacity at institutions of higher learning in Edo State.

    The new department, which is expected to kick off in the first quarter of 2019, is an offshoot of the deal for the state’s 5,500 barrels per day (bpd) Modular Refinery Project which will be established in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state.

    The state government has already approved a N700m seed fund for the project, which will pave way for the construction of the first refinery project in the state.

    The modular refinery is to be built by a Chinese consortium, comprising Peiyang Chemical Equipment Company of China (PCC), a world-leading modular refinery company; Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation (SIPS) which is a subsidiary of Sinopec, the top Chemical giant in the world and African Infrastructure Partners (AIP), a Nigerian infrastructural company.

    Confirming that modalities are being finetuned for the take-off of the department at AAU, Ekpoma, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ignatius Onimawo, said that the institution is concluding plans for the kick-off of the department.

    According to him, “We have created several more functional departments including the Department of Business Education and Human Nutrition and Dietetics. We have in the pipeline a Department of Chemical Engineering which is expected to take off early 2019, as soon as the nitty-gritty of linkage with a Chinese University is concluded.”

    The governor has inaugurated a new Governing Council to lead its new vision for AAU, Ekpoma and has assured to provide the required resources to strengthen the institution’s capacity to produce quality manpower for  Edo State and Nigeria.

    Experts see the new council as playing a huge role in paving the way for the mounting of the new department, which will ensure a surfeit of human resources for the project, as a component of the deal is a training programme for indigenes of the state to develop capacity in the petrochemical industry.

    Explaining the circumstances that led to the setting up of the department in partnership with the Chinese university, Governor Obaseki, during the sealing of deal in China, said that the department is an added benefit of the modular refinery project.

    According to him, “The university programme is an added benefit to the modular refinery deal which final investment agreement was signed in Beijing.

    “The programme will build technical manpower for the oil and gas industry in line with the federal government’s policy on local capacity development in the sector. The idea is to develop technical manpower and set industry standards in the oil and gas sector.”

     

     

     

  • Revamp of 230 schools: Parents, other stakeholders laud Obaseki

    As contractors mobilize to site for the commencement of rehabilitation work on 230 public primary schools across Edo State, parents and other stakeholders in the education sector have commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for prioritizing the reform of basic education in the state.

    A cross-section of stakeholders who spoke to journalists said the state government has shown uncommon commitment to the basic education sector, starting with the training of over 7000 teachers on the use of digital tools to teach in primary schools across the state.

    They said that the renovation of schools across the state has put paid to complaints that the teachers would teach in dilapidated schools, noting that the exercise shows that the governor is not just systematic in his approach to problems, but also sincere.

    A parent, Mrs. Omoh Abhulimen, from Esan South East Local Government of the state, said the intervention of the state government is a rescue mission to save public education at the basic level.

    “After training teachers on modern methods of teaching, it was only appropriate that the state government embarks on major repair of schools with dilapidated structures to ensure children learn in a conducive environment,” she said.

    Another parent, Mr. Micheal Obi, whose children were relocated to another school as a result of the state of infrastructure in their school, commended the state government for approving the 230 schools for refurbishment.

    “After the renovation work, my children will have the chance to return to their school. We are really happy that schools are being worked on. It is not every government that places this emphasis on primary schools. It is worth commending.”

    Favor Ikponmwosa, who lives in Egor Local Government Area of the state, expressed appreciation to the governor for listing Eweka Primary School among the schools in the first phase of the renovation work, and said: “I thank Governor Obaseki for remembering our children.”

    A resident of Akoko Edo Local Government Area, Mrs. Bose Itsemhe, said “I am happy they are coming to fix the school here in my area. Those of us with children attending the school will monitor the progress of work and help in safeguarding the school from vandals.”

    Recall that during a meeting with contractors, Governor Godwin Obaseki vowed to prosecute contractors who deliver sub-standard work on the 230 public primary schools being refurbished by the state government.

    A School-based Management Committee (SBMC) has been put in place to ensure that the schools are well run and whatever has been provided for the schools are not vandalised.

     

     

  • Lassa Fever: Obaseki tasks local councils on sanitation

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has charged chairmen of local government areas in the state to intensify the campaign on environmental sanitation and other efforts geared at mitigating resurgence of Lassa Fever in the state.

    Obaseki gave the charge in Benin City, as a team of scientists working with staff of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, have made a breakthrough with a “rapid portable genomic sequencing technology to identify viruses without prior knowledge of the cause of the disease.”

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, the governor said that the state government has already rolled out a campaign to sensitise the public on how to prevent the spread of Lassa Fever.

    He said that the state government has mobilised relevant health agencies and is working closely with a delegation of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), to reduce the chances of a resurgence of the ailment.

    According to him, “It is no news that we are susceptible to Lassa Fever in some parts of the state, due to a number of factors. The risk of resurgence in Nigeria is high in the dry season, as people engage in bush burning.

    “However, the Edo state government has commenced an elaborate sensitisation campaign to ensure that the people are better informed on what can cause or spread Lassa Fever this season. We are aware of the resurgence in other states and are committed to stamp out the disease from our state.

    “This is why the governor is calling on the chairmen of local government areas, who are closest to the people to ensure that this message gets to our people everywhere. They are to mobilise information units in their areas to take the message of how to prevent the disease to remote parts of the state.”

    Meanwhile, a team of scientists working with staff of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, have made a breakthrough with a “rapid portable genomic sequencing technology to identify viruses without prior knowledge of the cause of the disease.”

    The research led by scientists from Public Health England (UK), the Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Germany, in collaboration with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been described as a major breakthrough in Lassa Fever diagnosis.

    Read Also: Obaseki meets contractors on revamp of 230 schools

    The breakthrough is contained in a report published in the journal, Science. The research was conducted during the 2018 Lassa fever epidemic in Nigeria.

    The Chief Medical Director of ISTH, Prof. Sylvanus Okogbeni, was quoted as saying “The result of the sequencing reassured managing Clinicians in ISTH, the main centre for the diagnosis and treatment of Lassa Fever in Nigeria.

    “I would like to congratulate the team for the feat. The institution is very willing to collaborate further to ensure that on-site sequencing is a regular feature of its Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control.”