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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • My successor must sustain tax policy – Oshiomhole

    My successor must sustain tax policy – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said his successor should be able to sustain and deepen tax collection and administration policies initiated by his administration.

    This, he noted, would enable his successor to deliver on people’s oriented programmes.

    Oshiomhole spoke on the topic: “Dwindling Revenue from Crude Oil: The Challenges for State Governments,” at the first lecture series of the Correspondents Chapel of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Benin- City.

    He said many persons including government officials were not paying taxes before the inception of his administration.

    The governor said state and federal government must broaden its tax net and shift more emphasis on indirect taxes.

    He said government must demonstrate a high sense of responsibility and integrity on how it appropriate funds and how the funds are being appropriated for the good of all and sundry in the state.

    “The next government after me should be able to widen and deepen the tax collection regime to be able to deliver on its services to the people of the state. Delivery on services entails the availability of funds and the government should expand the scope of revenue generations in the midst of dwindling oil prices to be able succeed.

    “Government must broaden the tax net and its administration to ensure that the taxable people in the state are all captured in the tax generation process,” he stated.

     

  • Oshiomhole to Obasanjo: you’re the emperor

    Oshiomhole to Obasanjo: you’re the emperor

    Governor  Adams Oshiomhole has said that no one is more deserving of the  tag of emperor which former President Olusegun Obasanjo sought to hang on state governors recently than Obasanjo himself.

    Oshiomhole, reacting to a statement by the former president that state governors live like emperors and hinder the local governments from performing their staturoty functions, said the allegations do not apply to him (Oshiohole) or his administration.

    Governor Oshiomhole said perhaps Obasanjo was referring to governors that ruled between 1999 and 2007 when he was in power.

    Several other governors also denied the Obasanjo allegations.

    Oshiomhole said  Obasanjo exhibited traits of an emperor during his tenures as  military head of state and civilian president.

    Speaking through the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Agbua, the Edo governor said that he has been able to manage the meager resources in the state in a transparent manner.

    He said: “The former president was a member of the PDP until  a few weeks to the general elections when he tore his membership card. He may be referring to PDP governors whom he presided over. He may have information about PDP governors whom he presided over that he wanted to share.

    “Our economic infrastructure is second to none in the history of this state. The PDP presided over this state for a period of ten years and they left a tale of woes, neglect and discredit infrastructure. Today we have converted that sorry state to a sweetened state by virtues of the economic infrastructure we have put in place.

    “It will be a wrong estimation for anybody to put Oshiomhole in the rank of those who are called emperors. We don’t own a private jet in this state. Others have and they don’t have the means to sustaining it. We don’t live an exorbitant lifestyle. The governor’s office is the same except that we renovated it to give it a facelift.

    “Go round and ask local government chairmen. Oshiomhole does not touch local government money. The directive he gave was that they should pay primary school teachers as a first line charge because of his commitment to education.

    “When there was an interregnum, he saved money for the local governments. Some got as much as N800m. They inherited it because Oshiomhole saved the money for elected chairmen.”

    The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Aniekan Umana speaking for  Governor Udom Emmanuel also said the governors does not live an ostentatious life.

    The Commissioner described Emmanuel as “a very humble and God fearing person, very humane, a family man to the core who loves his people and is working assiduously to uplift the standard of living of every Akwa Ibom and other persons.”

    He said despite Udom’s good fortune as a private man before becoming governor, he had been known to lead a simple life style and he has continued to do so.

    Umana said until recently, Governor Emmanuel was still using his personal cars to go about his official duties and made no fuss about it.

    He said with victory at the Supreme Court and the distractions taken off his way, he is going to focus on an unparalleled industrial and general development of Akwa Ibom State and its people.

    Governor  Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State said he has no business dictating to the local governments  on the way and manner they  run their affairs  or use the funds allocated to them.

    He stated  all statutory organs of government are allowed to carry out their functions without any let or hindrance.

    Bello who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jide Orintunsin, said he has never tampered with local government funds in the state adding that what belongs to the local government goes to them.

    He said the 25 local government councils in the state are given a free hand to carry out their activities and cited the example of the caretaker committee of  Chachanga local government who invited the governor to “inspect projects single-handedly financed by them.”

    Similarly,Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State said he is more interested in the welfare of the people of the state than living like an emperor as insinuated by former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

    The Governor, spoke yesterday in Awka, through his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media, Mr. James Eze.

    He said: “it is a simple matter, we are in a democracy and democracy thrives on criticisms and pluralism of opinions from various groups and individuals.

    “In Anambra state, our realities are different, because Obiano is doing exceedingly well and meeting the yearnings and aspirations of those who elected him.

    “For instance, there are only three states namely, Anambra, Lagos and Kaduna that are continuously paying salaries of their workforce in Nigeria.

    “Not only that, Obiano is doing other capital projects and that is not how a Governor that lives like an emperor conducts his state, he also granted amnesty to 25 prison inmates and gave each of them one million naira to start their life afresh.

    “Is that how a man that lives like an emperor behaves?He is a listening Governor who has the interest of his people at heart and working for them and that is why the people are happy in Anambra.

    “Again, few days ago, he gave automatic employment to 13 medical doctors who just graduated, when some states are throwing out their workers into the unemployment world.

    “Obiano lives for the people and not living like an emperor or diverting local government funds as being portrayed by our revered elderstatesman, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.”

    Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State said he could not have been among those Obasanjo called emperors  as he does not live or act like one.

    He responded through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications Sam Hart.

    His words:”The Abia State Governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu is not and cannot be one of the Governor’s the former President is referring to.

    “President Obasanjo was in Abia just recently where he commissioned some of the projects executed by the Governor in a very short time he assumed office.

    “He was so impressed with what was going on in Abia within so short a time that he adopted Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as one of his political sons and also urged other governors to emulate him.

    “Dr. Ikpeazu lives in the Abia State Governor’s Lodge in Aba, which is a 3-Bedroom Colonial building with the barest minimum amenities. He is not in a hurry to complete the new Government House in Umuahia as there is no money to complete the project.

    “Surely, a person who wants to live like an emperor will not operate from such a building for 9 months now.

    “Moreover, by his very nature, he is not taken by the trappings of his office. He has maintained his pre-inauguration Spartan unassuming and no-airs life so surely, he is not one of those being referred to by the former president.

    “ Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has no business with Local Government funds in Abia State. The Chairmen receive their allocations and execute projects as they deem needful”.

    Saturday Nation’s efforts to get the reactions of  Governor Mohammed Abubakar  of Bauchi State were unsuccessful.

    His Special Adviser on Media ,Yakubu Ibn Mohammed was said to be busy even long after he had been notified of  our intention.

  • Oshiomhole, Anenih, the controversial N260m

    Oshiomhole, Anenih, the controversial N260m

    Elder Statesman and former chair of Board of Trustees, (BOT) of the opposition party, People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) Chief Tony Anenih has laboured in the last couple of weeks, trying to explain how he ‘disbursed’ his own alleged share of the $2.1 billion arms money. Unfortunately, the attempt by his hack writers to clean him up in the eyes of well-meaning Nigerians have also collapsed like a pack of cards. Rather, they ended up messing him up the more. The policeman in him failed him this time around, as he could not fix this. What a sad way to end a glorious and robust political career for a man believed to be at the “departure lounge?” The all-seeing God, the God of the long suffering Nigerians is furious. He is set to trouble all those who have been troubling this great country, those who have clayed her feet and prevented her from moving at the pace she has been destined to move among the comity of nations. It’s a year of divine judgement, all the fasting and prayers by Nigerians have not been in vain, hallelujah! Yes, but for the divine intervention in the political affairs of this country, these revelations would not have come to light.

    Men of timber and caliber are now struggling to explain to Nigerians how they connived to loot the country blind and shared our common wealth amongst themselves. How are the mighty fallen! Again, thank God for His divine intervention in the political affairs of our country. With these revelations, the socio-economic cum financial rape on this country by the PDP in the last 16 years is better imagined than described. Sad enough, some gullible Nigerians still sympathise and shamelessly query the law for taking its course in its attempt to make these dishonorable Nigerians to throw up what they have fraudulently eaten. For instance, they query the manner in which former PDP Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh was brought to court last week. In a saner clime, it is unimaginable for anyone to raise any such question because Metuh is a man who confessed receiving 400 million Naira and boasted that he was not ready to return a dime from it. In the process of his interrogation by men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, he was alleged to have shreded his witten statement, chewed it like bitter kola! What can be more criminal than this? As a lawyer, one would expect Metuh to know better and behave more responsibly. In the eyes of God, Metuh is not more human than the common pick pocket who stole 50 Naira and is brought to court handcuffed and subsequently sentenced to years of imprisonment. Well, that’s a discussion for another day. Back to the main topic of discourse here, Oshiomhole, Anenih and the controversial $260 million.

    I read a piece in the Sunday Vanguard written by one Francis Ehigiator titled “we should be fair to Anenih”. In his attempt to launder the image of Anenih, he ended up fouling the political cum economic space the more. Ehigiator further insulted the sensibilities of Nigerians by his jaunduced opinion piece. Hear him: “ It is now also clear that the N260 million traced to his (Anenih) account could not be reasonably associated with money laundering neither could it be said to be in breach of public trust, having been received as a refund of out- of- pocket expense incurred on political assignments that would help to maintain the peace and stability of the nation during the crucial 2015 presidential election”. If an individual who has no direct bearing on security matters in the country could get as much as N260million as out of picket allowance to maintain security during the presidential elections, then how much did the inspector General of Police and other security chiefs get? How much did the commissioners of police in the state get and their counterparts in other security agencies? Ehigiator should know that his augment does not add up. He cannot pull wool over the faces of Nigerians on this matter that has to do with blood money. In any case, when did Chief Anenih become a security officer to earn such huge amount of money as “security vote”? As far as I know, the highly respected Uromi chief retired from the police about two and a half decades ago as an assistant commissioner of police.

    On his own personal explanation to the EFCC in a letter,  Anenih was said to have claimed that he spent a total of 400million Naira during the election, that is, 180million in excess of the N260million he allegedly collected from the office of the National Security Adviser, (NSA.) He is insisting that the former president, Goodluck Jonathan was owing him N180million, so he has nothing to refund to the Federal Government. He claimed that the N400 million was disbursed on the instruction of the former president, taking pains to list how the disbursement was made. Despite all these explanations, I believe Chief Anenih should be able to separate Jonathan from his government,  because they are two different entities. The money disbursed is not Jonathan’s personal money, rather, it’s our common wealth. It remains so, unless Chief Anenih is able to prove that the money he claimed to have been paid into his account was Jonathan’s personal money and not the one linked to the $2.1 million meant for arms purchase. So, the onus is on the chief . May God help the chief to wriggle himself out of this web, come out clean and “finish well”. But how much does an assistant commission of police earn monthly as pension? What are his other sources of income aside this pension? These and more are some of the issues the chief has to explain to Nigerians to wash his hands clean of this blood money. More importantly, Chief Anenih has to show proof that the personal money of N180million he claimed to have spent for the election was legitimately earned. Otherwise, everything will deemed to be our common wealth.

     

  • ‘Oshiomhole alone can’t decide his successor ’

    ‘Oshiomhole alone can’t decide his successor ’

    Former Edo State Deputy Governor Peter Obadan is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with  Correspondent OSEMWENGIE BEN OGBEMUDIA, he speaks on the Oshiomhole administration, the Land Use Charge Law, the succession battle and the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    What is your assessment of Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s scored card in the last seven years?

    It is out of place, I will say, for me to start scoring the Comrade Governor as APC leader in the state. I think those who are watching us and those who are seeing us govern that ought to score. It is like asking the Comrade Governor to score himself. We have enjoyed relative peace in Edo State, without a peaceful co-existence there cannot be development, be it social or economic. For that, I think we can give ourselves a pass on the back. There is also no doubt that we can look back to the last seven years of the administration and declare that the administration has done better than what the previous administrations did or achieved, that we can also declare. I must also highly commend the ability of the government to pay salaries as at when due, it is one of the very, very few states in the country that has kept fate with the people on the issue of payment of salaries. There are so many areas you can talk about in terms of comparative analysis between what it is now and what it was before. But like I said the public is always the best judge of what they see and perceive of the APC administration in the state.

    Who do you think should succeed Governor Oshiomhole?

    Well, Edo State is no longer a state where we present a learner for the management of the State. So, we definitely would require somebody with a measure of experience, somebody with a good level of qualification, somebody with good level of interaction with those at the centre, that also has a fame knowledge of the country, that is the type of man we would want in addition to ability to develop the state, to attract investment to the state, to enhance the productive capability of the Edo people. That is the kind of person we are actually looking at, and don’t forget in this state now we have the National Chairman of the Party who is from Edo State and it should be a pride to all the Edo people to ensure APC produce the next Governor of the state. It will certainly be a thing of Joy if we have a candidate that is returned un-opposed. Don’t also forget that the Comrade Governor will be leaving behind a legacy, he would want somebody who will equally excel. So, that is the type of character we will be looking at. Also the politics of Edo State is leadership driven.

    The leaders of Edo State politics are yet to meet to look at the issues wholistically, it is not going to be one man show, I can assure you on that, it is definitely not going to be one man show.

    So, the leadership of the state will look at the whole issues, because this time around we will definitely pick the best for the people of Edo State because there are some that are going to be playing their last cards in politics and they will be going into political retirement. So, nobody is going to allow a godfatherism, which is the basis some of us hitherto pulled out of the PDP. I think at the appropriate time who ever emerges from APC will be a thing of joy to everybody, he must be a man that has learnt how to follow.

    There are fear that the opposition party may ride on the alleged anti-people’s policies of Governor Oshiomhole to power. What is your view?

    Governments policies or pronouncements can never be favourable to everybody, that is what people must learn. The interest of the generality of the people, this is what is paramount where policies are being formulated and then policies are formulated at times because executive needs to step on toes, it is only those with fore sight that appreciates such policies but policies must be implemented with the milk of human kindness, it cannot be draconic which is always the problem at times. In my opinion, policies when formulated and presented, if the original intention or the intent for which it was created turns out to neglect the intended objective, the policies formulators are always willing to withdraw, there is no shame about it because when you talked about management by objective, you also talked about management by exemptions. So, you look at the two, you want to achieve a particular goal if it is not definitely favourable, you discovered that the effect will not achieve the objective rather will sink you further, such policies are withdrawable and there is always no shame about it. That is why some of these policies are laid before the peoples opinion and like they say you present it before the court of the public. So, APC is a grassroot party and APC will do anything that will favour the majority of the people. We cannot be playing to the gallery yard, promoting the interest of the very few every time. To make it clear, and what I am saying in effect is that, yes there are noises about some recent policies but I don’t have all the facts that led to the formulation of all these policies but I know the state is eager to raise money. With an attempt to equalize, you don’t   keep increasing the gap between the rich and the poor, a good manager will try to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, that is the economic management.

    I know I have always heard from the Comrade Governor, that we are stratifying, that this policy will affect these areas and will not affect these areas, especially the land use charge. Even if that is done, they may also have to look at the rate. But I did not hear about the intention of the government to demolished churches in GRA directly from the Governor and I think those are overzealous people even of course, personally I would resist such acts against churches unless and unless government does not realize or appreciate what government itself is benefiting from the church. When you pulled out churches from the system, you create avenue for criminalities.

    Are you calling for the reversal  of these policies?

    If churches and mosques are included I will say they should be excluded because they have a secondary role which they play,they are actually supportive of the intentions of the government. Whatever laws the government make to create peace and order, to create happiness within the system, churches and mosques compliment in no small measure the efforts of government to realising this. That is why churches and mosques cannot be subject to taxation but individual there who earn income could be taxed but the church itself cannot be regarded a trading concern because it is a charitable organisation.

    So, if that aspect of it was included I think it is an error. But again one thing many people have not given consideration to is which area constitutes the GRA by the definition of our law? Which are the churches within GRA actually, maybe the ministry of land would have to tell us. In my opinion the whole GRA is bounded by the boundary road, the airport road, the Sapele road, Ikpokpan, that is the old GRA, anything out side that is not GRA and I have looked round the four walls, I don’t know the church that are there, maybe one or two. The church of God mission, airport road, which I belong to is not in GRA, what about the Faith Centre, is equally not in GRA and they cannot be taxed. One man cannot use this pen to draw a GRA for us because we have a GRA that was  legally created and that is the way I see it.

    Don’t you think that President Buhari’s, anti-corruption war appears to be directed at former PDP Governors and Ministers

    I want to say if you have an APC governor been invited for questioning then  he was never an APC man. Who were those who managed the resources of the country, they were the PDP Governors and PDP Presidential aids, they were the ones, they had all the money they got looted and I just pray that the net should be widen to capture everybody including the ministers. Ministers who could hardly change their cars started talking of billions, trillions.

    So, those are the issues, it is not targeted at the people but it is targeted at the corrupt minded people. There were some PDP gentlemen who went through the process and they did not stain themselves, they are there and they are not been invited. You know the impunity some of these governors acted, it was as if there was no tomorrow, it was as if nobody could ever called them to order with the way they acted. So, I believe that APC is not even involved with what is going on, no instruction has been given to anybody but the wind of change that has taken effect has created in the minds of the guys in EFCC, ICPC that look there is a change, things must have to be properly done.

    In the past these things were overlooked or influenced to handle, they are now turning the pages because they know their own job is at risk. Like the judges, we also have been having fantastic judgements, nobody has been able to fault their judgment but it was not like this in the past whether we like it or not. I think we are at the right footing, if they are been invited and their hands are clean, they also need not be afraid to stand before the judgment seat and the judges there will clear them and it will even be a thing of pride for them have gone through the EFCC.

    So, it is not what we should make too much noise about. I don’t think President Muhammadu Buhari is there to witch hunt anybody or crucify anybody.

  • ‘Oshiomhole can’t be neutral’

    ‘Oshiomhole can’t be neutral’

    Jefferson Uwoghiren is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State. In this interview with Osagie Otabor, the journalist-turned lawyer says the party has failed in its role as an opposition party. He also says it is wrong to blame Godwin Obaseki, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, for the sins of his grandfather.

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole has outlined the qualities  he expects from his successor. Do you think the governor should be neutral on the decision about his successor?

    It is unfair and improbable for any person to expect the governor to be very neutral concerning who will succeed him after doing eight years in office. There are a lot of reasons why the governor cannot afford to be neutral. One is the issue of legacy. Success without successor is failure. It will be very careless, dangerous about who maintain and sustain the legacy taken years to build. Any person who find himself in Oshiomhole’s shoes will do the same thing. At our home, we tend to train our children to sustain the legacy we have built. If we as parents are so concern about who takes over from us, who sustain our little legacies, how do we expect a man holding a political office, that has enemies, to be lukewarm over who takes over. Oshiomhole is not daft not to be interest in who takes over.

    Do you think the PDP will make any headway in the governorship election?

    The PDP will make a lot of headway. The only question is to what extent? It is not enough  to participate in an election. You participate in an election to win. With what instrument in terms of human, capital and material are they going to prosecute the electoral process to win. The candidate of the PDP is as important as the party and the public are keenly interested in what is happening in all these political parties. The public know a lot of these aspirants more than the parties know them and they are not going to be deceived by any slogan of any candidate. The party will make headway but what direction will the head way be. Are there going to be imposition? Are they going to woo people by giving them a lot of money? Are they going to be looking at the person who has money but is very evil minded? Are they looking at the person who will oiled the political machinery but will be rejected by the public in the general election?

    The APC is in crisis over who succeeds Oshiomhole. Do you think the APC can overcome its crisis?

    The crisis in the APC is expected as being the government in power. A lot of people will want to create a lot of feel for themselves. The crisis can only be managed if the members are genuine and willing to give and take. There is no way five or six persons will be seeking for one office and they will all expect to get it. They will be deceiving themselves. In an contestation, you should realize that there are others with higher claims and if you don’t get it, you support the winner. The very moment you are not going to adopt that kind of a approach, you are there to destroy the party. It is the ability to reconcile all aggrieved parties that makes a political party very strong. Election process can destroy a party. The party need to look at the internal democratic process and ensure they provided a level playing field for all the aspirants so that nobody will feel struck out of the process.

    Some leaders are accusing Oshiomhole of godfatherism after helping to destroy godfathers in the state ….

    By the nature of his office, it is implied that he is a godfather. It is an insult to call him a godfather of the state. Oshiomhole presides over economic, social, political development of the state and that give policy direction in other sectors of the state. There is nothing wrong if that makes him a godfather. It is only when it becomes overbearing, you take money from several persons seeking one office and then annoint one person having dupe others.Tell me who has been very lukewarm and uninterested in who takes over from him or who takes over certain political offices from councillors to local government chairman. The reaction is unnecessary. If you are uncomfortable with what is happening in a political party, go and test your popularity elsewhere. It is not proper to begin to see Oshiomhole as emperor. Some of these persons will do worse, if given power.

    Do you think Oshiomhole will actually finish well?

    That depends if he started well. He can only finish well if he started well. I do not believe the governor started well. I have always accused him of not starting well. He was always comparing his administration with the failed previous governments. The public voted for him because there was a mistake before. Considering the financial situation of the state, I don’t think the governor has done extremely well. He has said he has not achieved the things he intended to do. Nobody should praise him more than he deserved to be praise. Edo State is work in progress. To say he will finish well means he has done all the work. We still have bad roads. There is no pipe borne water, no access to justice. We have a lot to do. We must be frank with our limitations. He put some schools in place but where are the chairs? If Oshiomhole has solved all the problems, there will be no reason for another election.

    Some Local Governments Chairmen have not been able to pay salaries. What do you think is the way out?

    Local government autonomy is still the way out. There is so much tie down at the local government. We are in a federation. In the federation system of government, local government ought to the independent. They were elected and they have their parliament that should regulate the act and conduct of the executives subject to the House of Assembly. The issue of Joint Allocation Committee has taken their authority. They now become an appendage of the state executive. Until we have a very independent functional autonomous local government administration, we will continue to have that problem. In every thing they do, they run to government house. What then are the local governments actually doing? All those persons we are paying fat salaries to, are we feeling the impact. We have over 10 departments at the local government like the engineering, health but who is feeling the impact of their work? Those days, you see local health officials moving from house to house educating people how to live in a healthy environment. They are no longer doing their job description. It is either they reform the local government or they privatise it.

    Some PDP chieftains recently defected to the APC. Will it not affect the PDP’s chances?

    These persons have voters card and in the general elections, one vote is very important. Except for Ikhariale, you cannot compare the defection of Ikhariale to that of Lucky Imasuen. Ikhariale defection is a great loss to the PDP. For Imasuen, it is the reverse.

    Oshiomhole is believed to be supporting Godwin Obaseki, but some peaple are raising  issues about the actions of Obaseki’s grandfather …

    It is now for us to look at the qualities of the Binis that has shown interest in the governorship race now that the parties have zoned the contest to Edo South. No Bini person will look at what happened in the past 200 years. The Obaseki today is different from the Obaseki we are referring to. In the past 50 years, over five Obasekis have become high titled chiefs in the palace of the Oba of Benin. That shows we have moved beyond events of 1897. Some of these persons who are talking about the sins of Obaseki in the Oba Ovoranmen saga, ask the person how many persons in his family that have been honoured by the palace. If we have over five persons that have become palace chiefs from the Obasekis, it shows the Binis have moved beyond that kind of propaganda. The Obaseki, Ogiemwonyi and other Bini aspirants are our sons. We do not want any person to start describing any of the aspirant as second class. No Bini person will vote against the Obasekis on account of that idiotic propaganda. We are looking at what the aspirants can do for us and not what their fathers could not do for us. Some of the persons making puerile allegations cannot do anything for us now.

    The battle in the APC appears to be between career politicians and non-career politicians …

    What do they mean by career politician. Obaseki has been a card carrying member of the APC in the past seven years. He has been the Chairman of the Economic Team. Out of personal humility, he choose not to take position as Commissioner or Special Adviser. Is the fact that he worked pro bono for the government does not make him a politician? What makes one a politician? Ability to lie? Ability to bring down other persons and no initiative? Or the man who brings initiative that change the face of the state? Who is a better politician? There is nothing like career politician. Godwin Obaseki has always been in the background of the Oshiomhole administration and his impact has been felt by the party and the government. You don’t have to be a deputy governor or commissioner to be a career politician. Many commissioners have been removed and left the party. They say Obaseki is not a career politician because he does not go to their houses and be lying. We are interested in knowledge driven politics. We need people with economic sense to intervene in out politics with the stage of the naira in the international market. We need people who have something up their sleeves to alter the policy direction of our development. We want people who genuinely want positive development of our state. We do not want career politicians whose job is to steal and have nothing you can ascribed to them for all their years in politics. If you check some of these persons making noise about Obaseki, all they can show is the number of houses they have have bought. We are interested in where the state is going. We are interested in who leads us to the promise land. The late Ambrose Alli was not a career politician. He was brought in from the university and he turned the state around. We all felt his impact. We need to be very careful about this dangerous politics of ad hominem they are playing. A politics that tends to discourage quality persons from showing interest in service. We want to call those who want to serve us and not those who want to spend money to serve us.

  • Why I dragged Oshiomhole to court – Council boss

    Suspended chairman of Oredo local government area of Edo State, Mr. Osaro Obazee, has said he dragged the state Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, to court to stop future governors from arbitrarily suspending elected council officials from office.

    Obazee and four other council chairmen were suspended from office in June last year over alleged diversion of Internally Generated Revenue, illegal employment and inability to pay workers’ salaries among other reasons.

    The state government is yet to set up a panel of enquiry to investigate allegations against the suspended council bosses.

    Obazee said he opted for the law court to seek judicial interpretation on the powers of the governor to suspend elected council chairmen.

    He spoke to reporters at the resumed hearing of the case at an Edo State High court on Tuesday.

    Presiding Judge, Justice Esther Ikpomwen, had adjourned ruling on jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter till February 23.

    Counsel to the defendants, M.O Airede, urged the court to strike out the case as according to him, Obazee was removed in accordance with relevant laws.

  • PDP celebrates victory in Oshiomhole’s constituency

    PDP celebrates victory in Oshiomhole’s constituency

    Thousands of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in Etsako West Constituency II of Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State at the weekend celebrated the victory of its House of Assembly candidate in the Court of Appeal.

    The party members danced across the constituency and in Uzaire clan. The celebration comprised a long convoy of vehicles. The people thanked the residents for their support.

    An Appeal Court in Benin, the state capital, last month, annulled the election of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and the lawmaker representing the constituency.

    It declared Sylvester Eruaga of the PDP the winner.

    Speaking during the celebration, PDP’s Vice Chairman and Edo North’s leader, Henry Duke Tenebe, noted that by the victory, a PDP lawmaker would represent Governor Adams Oshiomhole in the House of Assembly.

    He said: “The judgment has further enhanced the confidence of everyone that justice is real, irrespective of party affiliations.”

  • Prayers for Oshiomhole

    SIR: I believe that when people say they are praying for Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, I am sure he will want to know exactly what their prayer point is. Some have prayed to God to bless him and his family because of the fact that they were able to celebrate the yuletide as well as he did. That December salaries of civil servants and pension were paid by the 20th at a time more than half the number of states in the country were unable to meet this elementary obligation of government. The feat deserves an applause from across the state – and our prayer.

    For motorists and residents of Second East Circular Road in Benin City, the ongoing reconstruction  and dualization of that road is a definite answer to our prayers. This is because we had long begged God for a governor who would save us from the harrowing experiences of plying that road. We have waited 30 years  for the road to be reconstructed or even maintained properly. Our joy today knows no bounds as we offer prayers for our governor’s good health and long life. As would be expected, some people are not happy about this wonderful achievement and have become envious of his popularity and the political mileage this is bound to generate for his party in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state. The governor need not  worry as their ranks have been seriously depleted to have any impact. We are with him in prayers.

    Edo people are also offering prayers to God for the successful completion of the structural works of the new ultramodern 200-bed Central Hospital in Benin City. The magnificent edifice,  strategically located along the recently reconstructed Sapele Road, is a sight to behold and no one passes by it without thanking God for giving Edo a visionary governor. The central hospital was built over a hundred years ago. Over the years,  the buildings and facilities had experienced severe decline and dilapidation which, in turn, affected the quality of services rendered. Now, confidence has been rekindled in the populace that quality health care services are back in the state with the imminent supply and installation of modern equipment manned by well trained and efficient personnel. Our people would not now require to travel to India and other foreign hospitals for their health care needs.

    Edo people have several other reasons  other than the few listed, to offer a prayer for the well-being of our dear Comrade Governor. Notwithstanding the dip in resources, he has ensured that buldozers continue to roar in several areas of the state constructing and reconstructing roads.

    Now, with barely 10 months to the end of this administration, we cannot but pray for a worthy succesor. The matter of who becomes the next governor of our state is very important for the continued peace and prosperity of our state and well-being of the people. It cannot, therefore, be left in the hands of the un-informed,  sentimental, myopic and pretentious individuals whose only consideration is self. It has not happened before in the polity that a governor would turn a blind eye on the process of choosing his successor. We know, as our governor surely knows, that the red roof revolution; the urban renewal and beautification; Benin City storm water project; Queen Ede, Auchi and other erosion control works; free bus ride for students in uniforms; roads, water and electricity projects across the state; aggressive internal revenue generation to replace dependence on allocation from the federation account and encouraging protest as feedback process in governance are legacies which must be protected, sustained and improved upon by the incoming administration.

    No, it must not happen that the an individual with more money than love for our state emerges to rubbish the legacies of the last eight years and take us back to where we were in 2008.

    • Comrade Nasamu Jacobson,

    Benin City.

  • Oshiomhole: How Jonathan threatened to cage me

    Oshiomhole: How Jonathan threatened to cage me

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has disclosed how former President Goodluck Jonathan threatened to contain him after May 29 for throwing his weight behind the candidature of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 general elections.

    Speaking at a meeting with APC leaders across the three Senatorial Districts of Edo State on Thursday, an elated Oshiomhole said: “Around this time last year, the tension in Nigeria was such that prophets of doom around the world were almost unanimous that Nigeria would not survive 2015, but as you can see, man proposes, God disposes.

    “Around this time last year, in January, a few weeks to the election, many were saying quite recklessly on radio and television that we were finished.

    “The former president, Goodluck Jonathan, told our National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun to inform me that after the election, he will put me, Adams, the son of Oshiomhole, in a hole. And I told Chief Oyegun to inform him to dig that hole very deep because, although I am short, in the course of pushing me into the hole, nobody knows who will get there first.

    “Since he is taller than me, he needs to dig the hole deep enough so that either of us can get in. In the end, he is inside the hole and I am busy putting dust into that hole.

    “In this hall, around this time last year, we held a meeting to share information about what was going on in various local governments and the specific challenges in each of those local governments in order to fashion out appropriate response.

    “Some of the statements that we shared in those meetings included threats that by June, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole would have been impeached because PDP would write results, whether we liked it or not. They would overrun the House of Assembly, and once the House is proclaimed in June, before the end of June, Comrade would be banished to his house in the village and from there to prison.

    “Those who made those threats, who supervised those processes, even now in their early 90s, are writing letters to explain how they shared money meant for defence. Every evil weapon they fashioned against me did not prosper, and even the ones they are fashioning now will not prosper.”

    Reminding party leaders of the journey so far and how the Party has risen from ground zero to become the leading party in Nigeria, Oshiomhole said: “When we came in about seven years ago, my party had no control, even of one ward. We had no control of one local government. But today, we control wards; local, state and, by the special grace of God, federal. Things have changed. The one who tamed a lion with bare hands, now with automatic weapons: no antelope can dare us in our own forest.”

  • Why I won’t be neutral on my successor – Oshiomhole

    Why I won’t be neutral on my successor – Oshiomhole

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole has pointedly told leaders of the All Progressive Congress in Edo State that he would not be neutral on who succeeds him.

    Oshiomhole, however, stated that there would be free and fair primaries for party members to decide who succeeds him.

    The governor noted that many aspirants are vying to run under the APC based on the strength of his administration’s performance.

    He spoke at an enlarged meeting of the leadership of the APC from the three senatorial districts of the state.

    The governor said he would never be afraid to take a position and to explain his position on the basis of his conviction.

    Oshiomhole said he owed the party the explanation on the qualities needed from his successor.

    He stated the state needs a governor that has the capacity to see beyond going to Abuja for allocation because there is not much available in Abuja now.

    He said, “Should I as a governor have no such right to have a voice and a say on the choice of my successor? I cannot be neutral in matters affecting my environment.”

    “Even people who are not from Edo state will always tell me to guide them so that Edo will not go back to the past. I will never be afraid to take a position and to explain my position on the basis of my conviction.  In a democracy whether matured or growing, endorsement is legitimate. What I owe Edo people is very clear to me.

    “I have heard several things about my person, some said he has anointed one of the candidates, some now call me god father. There is no question that the governorship candidate of this party will be produced through primaries. In the last elections, House of Assembly, National Assembly and presidential elections, we held primaries.

    “So when people make those statements I just laugh. So this governor has no powers to impose any body on our party and certainly anybody on our state. I am proud to say that we have more than 60 political parties, why is it that everybody wants to run on APC platform? Why not Labour Party or PDP? It is on the strength of the performance of the government that I am privileged to head.”