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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • ‘Protest against Oshiomhole funded by PDP’

    ‘Protest against Oshiomhole funded by PDP’

    Comrade Godwin Erhahon is the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State. In this interview with OSAGIE OTABOR, he says the rift between Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his predecessor, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, will not pave the way for electoral victory for the Peoples Demoratic Party (PDP) in future elections. 

    People have been protesting against the policy of Governor Oshiomhole…

    On the Land Use Charge, we noticed that some politicians particularly the PDP that has lost in this state because of their woeful performance are doing things with very satanic intentions and motives. They are the ones instigating people and our people are being misinformed. Majority of those protesting in the streets are tenants and children of the poor whose parents are staying in the exempt areas and those in the densely populated areas. On the issue of the school fees, I understand the pains most parents are going through because of the level of poverty in the country. We want to ensure there is quality education in this state. Instead of protesting, they should have look for ways to meet at a middle course. They should have seen how it would be reduced but not for the old rate to be maintained.

    Should Oshiomhole apologise to Chief Igbinedion as being proposed by protesters?

    I refused to comment on that issue. I believed that when there are issue between two prominent citizens in this state, I was supplied to play a mediating role. The issue came from the governor on the platform of my party and Chief Igbinedion against whom such statements were made is a man of high esteem. I will not want to fuel any crisis between the two of them. I believe there is room for reconciliation.

    The PDP accused Oshiomhole of being corrupt and that he has not lived up to the people’s expectation.

    When the PDP says the governor is corrupt, what the average Edo man understand by that statement is that the governor is not sharing the money as they are used to. When they say the Governor Oshiomhole not lived up to expectation, it is because the governor has not abandon the people or the projects as they did. Any such assessment by the PDP as a party to have any meaning there need to be a comparative analysis such that when PDP was seven years old in government, this is what they did. They should point any roads or schools built by the PDP. In the absence of this, the PDP can only be seen as protesting against progress. It is possible that if the PDP has done a little of what Oshiomhole is doing, they would not have been losing elections in the state. They don’t want to see anything good in what we are doing but they have been rejected. I assure you that the PDP will never take over this state again. They will only make noise before elections.

    Some women wore red to protest which signify danger. Will it affect the fortunes of your party?

    How many of the women wore red? They said red signifies danger. The danger is first on the body that worn it. If all those wearing red attire survive the danger is it those who saw it that would be affected? They are the ones who have endanger their souls be wearing a uniform that portend danger. It is from them and for them.

    Lucky Igbinedion appeared ready to oust the APC from the state, following his reply to Governor Oshiomhole….

    Lucky Igbinedion knows that is impossible. When he had some minute integrity in the state, he could not have won election without rigging. This time around that the image is totally down, there is no way he can come out to campaign. Rigging is no longer possible here because PDP has not won any election in this state. I am not taking sides in the issue of the probe threat from the Governor to Igbinedion. I don’t have the details .How prepared is your party for next year’s elections?

    The road project we suspended because of the rains are being flagged off again. We are not prepared to join the PDP on the street. The PDP are noise makers. They don’t know what to do to impress the people other than just telling lies or making wide allegations. On our part, we are serving the people. Inspite of some women protesting, don’t you see the crowd on the street when Oshiomhole went out. Did Lucky Igbinedion came out on the street for the eight years he was a governor. The people know their own and their enemies. There is no way the PDP will perform better than they did in the last election.

    Are the various protests and voices not a threat to your party’s fortune?

    They have a right to complain. We are not saying there are no pockets of opposition or political enemies because they are coming out as enemies by trying to be violent and virulent. I assure that it is aloud. We will not be happy if we don’t have people challenging us. We are interested in ruling the state not conquering opposition. From all they say good or bad, we find some useful information from what they said. They are enemies of progress. They hate development. You saw how women were shedding tears of joy when the governor visited Queen Ede reclamation work. The women said they have been salvaged. PDP was sad that the people are happy. Their regime was that of a sadist and capitalist. They don’t want anybody to be happy. PDP cannot be happy with the Second East Circular road being constructed now. When we see them crying, we will know that we are doing well. The only way to test it was for us to step out like the governor did yesterday.

    Many people are of the opinion that the Igbinedions brought Oshiomhole to power. They said the Igbinedions are capable of routing the APC from power.

    I don’t know what they meant by that. I will like to hear details of how they brought Oshiomhole to power. I can remember that in 2007, Lucky Igbinedion raised the hand of Professor Osunbor and said the AC was a like an air conditioner without a compressor. If that was a way of campaigning for the AC, I don’t know. Let them speak out that they gave Oshiomhole so so money to campaign and get power. Let them say they were able to work against the PDP then. If they brought him to power, it means they never liked PDP. What has now attracted them back to the PDP. Let them be the one to say so, people should not just assumed. They should not believe in rumor. Let those who did the bringing to power speak out.

    Are they capable of routing the APC?

    How many are they. It they go out to bring out 300 women, how will that make them win. The way they are coming out is an indication of the number of votes they will get. When Pastor Ize-Iyamu left, they said the APC has collapsed but we are still strong. we have not less than 200 members in every Ward. Those protesting now are less than five percent of voters. Our concern is that the PDP should not misled our people. They should not play on the people’s intelligence. They are using the people against what is good for the people. Some of the women protesting do not know why they are protesting. Ask them what Oshiomhole said about Chief Igbinedion, they cannot tell you other than they said the man is abusing Chief. They cannot tell you what Oshiomhole specifically said. I am careful because of what I represent in this state.

    The PDP said they can now compare Oshiomhole to Lucky in terms of failures and achievements.

    They should show Edo people what Lucky did. For the first time I was sarcastic when those women said Oshiomhole has done nothing in Benin except his hometown, Iyamho. I wondered how somebody could be blind to what is visible to the people in Benin City. Is it every governor that can be unpatriotic and irresponsible enough to abandon his home like the Igbinedion government abandon the road to Okada. Oshiomhole said Lucky awarded the Iguobazuwa-Okada contract to his younger brother, Bright  and that the contract was not performed. Till today, that road has not been done. People are dying there regularly. Students are endangered because of the bad road. Some women are now talking about the governor that took care of others and his hometown. If I were a governor, I will not abandon my village. As I take care of other places, my coming to power must be a blessing to my people. You cannot be a governor and cannot tar the road to your community. After you have left, you are now begging successive governments to do the roads.

    Why is that the APC is doing enough to inform the people about government policies?

    The state government is doing that but the PDP is playing politics of envy. We don’t want to join them in the mud. The government has come out with the details of its policies and they are on it. If the PDP as a party is shouting, we will not join issues with them. They once quarrelled that the Edo YES staff should be removed from the street because they were not working. After we stopped them to enable us screen them, they turned around to say we have sacked people unjustly. People are not fools. The PDP is a party is self contradiction. I advise the electorate not to disappoint God who gave them sights. They will be disappointing God when they say the good road they passed to protest is not good. If they go naked to protest in pretending they are blind and God said to let them go permanently naked, they will run mad. We pray it does not happen to them.

    Lucky said your party should point to one industry created in the last seven years.

    For  Lucky to say so, he should have hold a product of one of the industries he established. That is the proper way to say it. Even if it is a fruit juice bottle already processed, he will hold it and say this product is from an industry I establish while I was there and in that industry we are having 1500 staff there, Oshiomhole should show his own. Until he does that and them people will confirm. Let Lucky show the product of the industries he established.

  • ‘Oshiomhole should apologise to Igbinedion’

    Hon. Victor Enoghama, an associate of former Governor Lucky Igbinedion, is a former commissioner in Edo State. In this interview with Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR, he says Governor Adams Oshiomhole should apologise to Igbinedion for making unfounded allegations. 

    How would you react to the invectives on former Governor Lucky Igbinedion by Governor Adams Oshiomhole ?

    I am an in-law to the former governor. The event that took place before the anniversary when we heard the Comrade Governor insulting the Esama of Benin Kingdom and also insulting the former governor was not pleasant to me. I was disturbed that it was coming from a governor that I have worked with for four years. The moral value we had has been lost. If there are political issues that have to be discussed, there are ways to discuss them after all, the people we borrow this democracy from, they have their own political disagreement, but they don’t resort it to a personal attack. From what I saw when the governor used over an hour to lambast the Igbinedions, both father and son, is not a welcome development. If I were with the governor, I probably would have told him that is not the way a governor should behave. If you have any political difference with anybody, you first have a close door meeting. Things you discuss at a close door meeting are personal issues. For him to come out and start insulting someone like Chief Igbinedion, it is not really about my relationship with the Igbinedions or my relationship with the governor. As far as I am concern, it is politically incorrect and morally wrong.

    What should the governor do next?

    Lucky did not hand over to Oshiomhole, he actually handed over to Oserheimen Osunbor. For 18 months, Osunbor was governor in this state. His did not say he wanted to investigate Lucky who was his predecessor. For Oshiomhole to say after seven years that he wants to investigate Lucky, you will know that there is something fishy and all those things dovetail into the seven years anniversary. It was a build up. For me as someone who has worked in public office, I will say the governor has erred in this regard. If I were to be with the governor in his administration, I would have told him that he erred in telling the Igbinedions that he has stolen money from the state government which is unfounded. He has erred and if he wants peace in the state because as a government his primary purpose is the welfare of the citizens of the state and peace which is more paramount. He can retrace his steps when he as a governor apologies. There is nothing wrong if the governor admits his mistake. As a governor, there are certain people he must manage, regardless of political affiliation. Those people who have attained, in terms of business, those people the Federal Government has recognised. Do you know what it is for somebody to be awarded with a CFR. The Federal Governmenr has found that person worthy of that position. A person who has that kind of title, you don’t just demean that person in the public.

    What do you say about comments that Esama enriched himself during the administration of his son?

    For Oshiomhole to say that Chief Igbinedion enriched himself during Lucky’s government is laughable. I grew up as a small boy when we hear of the word Exemption. I remember those days when we used to pass artillery on our way to the stadium. We see high rising buildings and they said they belonged to Igbinedion. I used to see him on a white horse. The title Esama means one of the richest man in Benin Kingdom. Singlehandedly, Igbinedion has sponsored his son back in 1991 when he lost  during the NRC and SDP. Lucky coming into power in 1999 was funded by his father. He was the first black man to own 747 jet. Having participated in Lucky’s government in 2007, I can say that Lucky has done his best. He created the foundation for Oshiomhole. In 1999, the day Lucky came to power was the day civil servants called off their strike. Lucky did not lament what he met on ground but he put his effort together and see how he could create a government. Lucky restructure our health system and the educational system. In the civil service, Lucky employed people and get water from Ikpoba Dam. With the little money, Lucky had, he was able to put structures in place. An incoming government was supposed to build on it. If Lucky wanted to eradicate the legacy of Dr. Ogbemudia, he would not have renovated the stadium. He put seats on the stadium. He made the swimming pool to an international standard. He built infrastructure in AAU. Government is continuity. If Edo State want to move forward, we must avoid the idea of killing legacies of predecessors. The legacy I left at the Ministry of Transport was destroyed.

    Is it true that Chief Igbinedion solely collected the monthly IGR of N280m for personal use?

    That is completely false. Lucky formed the Board of Internal Revenue. Go and ask those who were members of the board how they were collecting the revenue. When Lucky came in, the IGR was about N20m. Lucky built it to about N280m. Does it mean his father was collecting N200m? As we speak, Oshiomhole has paid four percent to Oseni Elamah. If Igbinedion by proxy or influence was a consultant to the Board of Internal Revenue of which he was not, there was no way government would have paid N200m. What are they doing with the 4% they are paying the consultants? These are political gimmicks.

    A former Commissioner once said Lucky had passion for work, but was bogged down by his father and Chief Anenih.

    That is not true. If Charles Idahosa is saying that, I believe that is a misplace information. When you talk about performances, there is a limit you can perform as a government and that depends on the revenue that accrue to you. There is no father that will not wish his son well. There was no way the father, Esama could distract his son. Those of us close to Chief, we know that Chief met well for this state and this country. He has contributed his own to the development of this country. There was no way he could have distract his son. Lucky was never distracted. He gave his best to the development of this state. He is a quiet man and has never want to join issue with anybody. Idahosa is one of the beneficiary of Lucky. Was he not a Commissioner in his government. When he is now saying the government he was part of and he didn’t resign when things were going wrong and go on to say that somebody was responsible for the failure. Wherever we are now was made possible by Lucky. I have said it in a State Council meeting. The cry of the people during Igbinedion era was not road. How many people have cars then. Because their human development has been attain, that is when you start talking about cars.  The man was building government. He meant well for the state which was why he set up those industries to enable the youths get employed. The fruit factory at Ehor was never sold. It was only Ikpeshi Chemical plant that was sold. Cassavita was working and Fertilizer plant was there. Oshiomhole should have seen that the companies were working and build on it. People would have been working in the factory. No investor want to come to Edo during Lucky because investors were not sure about our democracy. The government took the initiative and after privatize. I am saying these things because of my participation in three administrations.

    You were in government when the Land Use Charge was passed into law..

    The Land Use Charge first came in 2012 when I was the Commissioner for Transoort. We discussed it at the Council meeting,  I told the Governor that the state was not ripe enough for the Land Use Charge. Then it was called Property Tax. I said we should get the government infrastructure to a level before throwing out the option. For him to say we can get N18bn a month means anti-people. We know in abroad, property tax are paid through mortgage system. As a citizen, you don’t need to have the full amount before building a house. Before talking about Land Use Charge, the infrastructure, water supply, electricity, good roads, good public schools, welfare are they available? The timing was wrong when they brought it on board and I said we must take development  to a certain level before introducing the law. We can’t see that

    Lagos State is doing something and we set out to do it. Property Tax is not politically correct as of this moment. Majority of Edo people are against this. You can shove it. You don’t make a law for certain people in the society. You make a law that encompassed the entire society. When they start saying it is met for those in the GRA. Where is the GRA? The GRA ends in Boundary road. I don’t live in GRA, I live in Ugbor village. Are you saying, I will pay when you have already defined GRA. Are you saying GRA at Auchi is included? If you want to take the map of old GRA, it ends in Boundary road. We should have public debate and do marketing before it is launched. The way the law was past showed there was something under it.

    But, the government said it was meant to tax the rich and provide facilities for the poor.

    How many rich men are in the GRA? Whenever they talk about the rich, they talk about Igbinedion. Some of the houses in the GRA are inheritance. There are so many government properties there. It is the rich men that established the businesses where people work in the state. Look at Igbinedion payroll, he pays over a N100m for salary staff. There is the C of O payment. Igbinedion is up to date on that. Are we going to tax them and give the money to the poor. How will the poor benefit from some of the programmes the government has outlined. That should be the questions to ask. There are various ways the rich can compensate and work for the poor. One way is bringing investment. Chief Igbinedion has brought a lot of investments where people work. The government should encourage the rich to invest. The rich are encouraged by the government to invest.

    What about the alleged land grabbing by Chief Igbinedion under his son’s administration?

    Without Igbinedion, most people would not have known Okada community. Igbinedion hails from Okada village. A part of those land the governor is referring to is his own inheritance. If you look at the date when some of the land were given to him, you can tell that military governors gave him part. If they say his son gave him the entire land which this government want people to believe is not true. The son didn’t gave his father those lands. Even if the son decide to give land to his father, is it because the son is a governor, the father should be denied something. If the father applied, the issue should be whether it passed through the normal process. I can do what I want to do on any land given to me by the government provided it is farming. If they say Chief Igbinedion has those land and he is letting them to cocoa farmers, how do we justify if Chief Igbinedion said he owns the cocoa farm. Have you seen any protest from Okada people that their land has been collected? Let them show us documents. Chief Igbinedion has documents with which the land was acquired. Some of those properties in the GRA were given to him by government before the son came to power. Igbinedion bought that number one Guest House from a former governor. They are playing politics with everything.

    Do you attribute what is happening to next year’s election?

    It is 2016 that is playing out now. They came out too early. The Oshiomhole government we started in 2008 was focus. We were focus and playing less politics. That is the reasons we were able to achieve some of the infrastructure we had. Today those infrastructures have collapsed because politics is now the order of the day. This last year is going to be for politics and as a result the people will not enjoy dividends of democracy. There are a lot of issues to compare previous government with this government unlike before when they will say this government didn’t do anything. The cost of doing the bye-pass from Oluku to Sapele road is N10bn. How much does this government spent on five kilometer of roads? When we want to talk about corruption, we have to look into his activities. I am not happy with the language of Oshiomhole calling Jonathan an armed robber. People like to talk about Martin Luther King. I will not want my children to talk like Oshiomhole. There are people to be managed in the society. If you successfully manage those people, it will be well with you. Some people were laughing when insults were poured on a man who for over 60 years has been on top of his game. The governor has right to challenge anybody to a debate but not to cast aspersion on those who said I don’t trust your policy. Some of us were labeled as rebel commissioners because we spoke our mind.

    Are you worried about the planned probe of Lucky Igbinedion?

    I am not worried about the planned probe. Those who have not sinned should cast the first stone. I just told you it takes N15bn to do a four kilometer road in this state. This issue of going to Abuja to forward files to the Federal Govenment. If there are issues, the man has a right to explain.

    Your party has accused Oshiomhole of being corrupt and you have worked closely with Oshiomhole. Can you say the allegation by your party is true?

    Corruption is of different forms. When you over blown project cost, that is corruption. When you get kickback on projects awarded, that is corruption. When you deny certain people of their rights, that is corruption. When I was there as a commissioner, there were certain things that happened that didn’t make me happy. That is the truth. It was clear to me that this idea of the messiah was not there. For you to say your predecessor was corrupt and you are not corrupt, that is for Edo people to decide. From the little we can see, we can tell the government is not free of corruption. When there is nepotism, tribalism playing in government, you know that is is not free of corruption. Some of us were moved from certain offices, because he wanted to put his tribesman there. Some people have been sacked from office because of one issue or the other while others are still in office for the same offenses. Is that not corruption. Oshiomhole’s government has lost focus. Politics now take 70 per cent and the real governance take 30 per cent and there is no control. Three years of this second tenure have destroyed the infrastructures we built in four years. Tell me any street light working today. When some of us challenged the traffic light, we were told this is the best. What about the school furniture that were supplied. People did not know what happened why there are no furniture in some schools where we invested N3bn. Compare the way Edo supplied furniture to schools to the way Fayose supplied furniture to schools. Our furniture makers in the state are not benefitting. Somebody did the furniture in Abuja and 50 per cent of the furniture were missing.

  • Waiting for Oshiomhole’s model schools

    Waiting for Oshiomhole’s model schools

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s dream is to build three model secondary schools  before leaving office next year. Though the schools are near completion, work is stalled because of abandonment by contractors and lack of funds, reports OSAGIE OTABOR (Benin).

    When he assumed office seven years ago, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole promised to build three model secondary schools before his tenure expires. He is leaving office next year, but the schools are yet to be completed. Why? Politics? Paucity of funds? Sabotage? Contractors, falure to deliver?

    His Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Prince Kassim Afegbua blames it all on “contractors who disappointed the government.” He promised that the governor will deliver the schools before his exit next year.

    It all began in 2009 when in his maiden budget presentation to the House of Assembly, Oshiomhole pledged to build the model schools in Benin, the Edo State capital, Iyamho in Estako West Local Government and Ewohinmi in Esan South East Local Government.

    Then, the House of Assembly was controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with Garuba Zakawanu as Speaker.

    The lawmakers initially refused to approve the budget. When it was approved, the model schools were one of the projects removed from it.  In 2011, the projects were again included in the budget; and it was approved.

    Their construction began in July of that year.  Each college on completion, will boast of two blocks of 27 classrooms, three fully-equipped science laboratories, a fully-stocked library, canteen, 1,500-capacity hall and sporting facilities.

    At the foundation laying of the schools, Oshiomhole said the government wanted to fix what was wrong and give Edo children a platform  to realise their potential.

    “The schools have been designed to ensure that when completed, they would compare favourably with any secondary school anywhere in the world.  Our policy is that our people deserve the best and if you look at the schools we have renovated, you would agree that we are not just talking; we are practicing what we are talking.  When the schools are completed, Edo people will be proud of what they have.”

    One of the schools on the premises of New Era College, on Upper Mission Road, Benin City, is at the roofing stage.

    Few workers were seen around the structure though they were not working when The Nation visited.  They told our reporter that they just did some repairs.

    Some pupils who spoke with The Nation expressed disappointment that the school was yet to be completed, noting that its construction started when they were in JSS2. They said  they had looked forward to attending the school.

    One of them, who refused to give his name, said: “I was in JSS2 when they started the school and was very happy. I am sad that I might not attend the school.”

    Another pupil, now in SS1, expressed the hope that the school would be completed next year so that she would be part of it before she leaves school.

    “I just want the government to hasten the construction so that I will join others to enjoy the facilities,” she said.

    Some teachers refused to comment, saying they were not authorised to speak as civil servants.

    Explaining the delay in the project, Afegbua blamed it on contractors, who abandoned the job.

    He said: “The one in Benin City has reached the roofing stage but there was some sort of hiccup from the contractor, ditto for the one in Edo Central which has also been commenced. We had to convert the one in Edo North to be part of the almost completed University of Science and Technology. We may not have applied the initial speed with which we started off because the contractors sort of disappointed us but we are on with the projects.

    “There was a little set back in the area of contractors because we wanted the best. Some of these contractors absconded. We have put in machinery in motion to see how we can repackage our approach to building them. We are now financially handicap.”

    Afegbua said the government would do its best to complete the projects.

    “If situation improves, we might continue to a point that the successive government will finish them. It is an idea we cannot run away from.

    “Oshiomhole is very serious about education that is why he has been able to renovate a lot of schools and do a lot in the tertiary institutions. As much as we are willing to do so much, the revenue accruing to the state is so little that a lot of our capital projects are being affected. The good news is that we have continuously maintained that whatever project we have started, we are going to complete at the expiration of the tenure of Governor Oshiomhole. We are not going to handover uncompleted projects.”

     

  • Why Bayelsa must vote out PDP – Oshiomhole

    Why Bayelsa must vote out PDP – Oshiomhole

    The Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has asked the people of Bayelsa State to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

    Oshiomhole said despite the massive natural endowments of the state, the PDP subjected the people to hardship and made them labour in vain under its umbrella.

    The Edo governor, who spoke in Yenagoa during Tuesday’s final mega rally of APC, said it was time for Bayelsa to join the broom revolution by voting for the APC on Saturday.

    He said the candidate of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva, had been tested and known to have performed better than the candidate of the PDP and Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    According to him, Bayelsa cannot afford to be in the opposition to guarantee massive development in all sectors.

    He said: “We want Bayelsa to fulfill its promises to the people. So, Sylva has been here, he has worked for you, he knows you and you know him too. You have tested his integrity.

    “All of us in the APC family are unanimous that with Sylva, the pace of development in Bayelsa will change, more money will be invested in education, more jobs will be created and businesses will be located here.

    “So we will work religiously and create jobs that are meaningful, that are sustainable. When we look at the faces here, we see a bundle of energetic men and women who are creative, energetic, resourceful, and what you need is a leadership that can fire your imagination.

    “I don’t want to be the only South- South governor from APC. I also want to have a brother, a brother that is taller than me. Vote for change and then you will know that is the beginning of good things to come into this state.

    “Therefore, on behalf of your brothers and sisters in Edo State, we will give our solidarity, our support our prayer and may change come on Saturday so that Bayelsa will grow from strength to strength.”

     

  • Extra budgetary spending is criminal, says Oshiomhole

    Extra budgetary spending is criminal, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole yesterday called for the prosecution of all those involved in extra budgetary expenditure under the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration. Such an act is criminal in the eyes of the law, he said.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke at the quadrennial delegates conference of the Non Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) in Abuja, said democratic norms and the nation’s legal system recognised separation of powers and the fact that no money can be spent from the treasury without first being appropriated by the legislature.

    He also said that it was criminal for a minister to release money from the treasury when such money was not appropriated for and not contained in the Appropriation Act.

    The former NLC President, who noted that Labour had been docile in recent time, said it was unfortunate that once a wealthy man is accused of corruption, he would seek the court’s permission to travel out of the country for medical treatment.

    “Last week, a big man was accused of spending $2billion and he said, ‘yes, we bought arms’. The law says before money is spent, it must first be appropriated by parliament. That money, which they claimed to have used to buy arms, was it appropriated by the National Assembly?

    “Does the then President have power to spend money that has not been appropriated? Does the Minister have power to release money from the national treasury that has not been captured in the appropriation law? Is that not part of conspiracy?

    “NLC should insist that all those involved in non-approved spending and money that was not in the Appropriation Act must not only refund the money, but must be prosecuted.”

    The governor added: “Part of the paradox of our society is that when the big man does something wrong, the Senior Advocates are ready to go to war; medical doctors are ready. A man is facing huge corruption charges and judges are granting permission for him to fly overseas.

    “When a worker is accused by a local policeman of driving without driver’s licence, he is dumped in the cell and from there to prison. You go to our prisons, you see sick detainees whose only offence is that they stole N100. Do they have permission to go overseas for treatment?

    “Are there instances of court granting them permission to go and get well first before facing trial? Are we all not supposed to be equal before the law? Criminal charges are not like Christmas packages. People must be made to pay for their crimes.

    “They have lived above the law before because they were covered by the umbrella and we couldn’t see them and now that the umbrella has been blown off, they must answer their father’s name and the working class must support the effort. I ask us to meticulously follow the debate and what is going on and take a position.

    On minimum wage, Oshiomhole said it was out of place for the governors to say that it was wrong for it to have been fixed centrally and imposed on the states when they have not argued against the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission fixing the salaries of governors.

    He said: “The idea of minimum wage must be sustained and I have told my colleagues. What must be clear for those who want to selectively apply the principle of federalism is that the head must lead by example for others to follow.

    “Why must the salaries of governors be centrally determined in Abuja through the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission? Why should the Edo State Governor earn the same salary as the Lagos State Governor? This is fixed by Abuja. So, if we want to decentralise, we start from the top and not from the bottom. The idea of a minimum wage is meant to have a floor. It talks about the minimum; it doesn’t talk about the maximum.

    “Buhari does not believe that the burden of this current crisis should be borne by the poorest of our society. He does not share the conviction that market and market alone should determine the way forward. So, support him to squeeze from those who have so that those who are thirsty can have something.

    “The rich must pay more tax. Anybody who parks a private jet on Abuja tarmac, Revenue Board must ask him to provide his tax receipt so that we know how much tax he pays.”

  • Oshiomhole’s legacy lies on his successor

    Oshiomhole’s legacy lies on his successor

    It’s expected that while the bell tolls consistently for Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s imminent exit that the succession storm will readily gathered with higher intensity after nearly eight years in the saddle. As the governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole has demonstrated seminal leadership; ministering to the two most basic purposes of governance: the people and the State. His success story can only be entrenched with the quality of the person who takes over from him.

    So far, Governor Oshiomhole has provided leadership which has to do with steering people towards mutually shared values in order to accomplish a clear goals and objectives. In another sense, it is taking responsibility for what members of one’s group, community or society do. Governor Oshiomhole’s leadership style encompasses visioning, passion, commitment and challenging the status quo to make the state, institutions, community or society perform better.

    However, leadership is not just about espousing policies, programmes and projects that will bring about meaningful development and progress that the people are yearning for, but also the singular obligation to ensure that those who take over from them are people of trusted characters. Every leader at any level, in any sector, or any institution has the cardinal duty of ensuring that capable and effective leadership does not end with him or her. This is an indispensable component of a truly successful leadership and in the wholesome re-engineering of POSITIVE CHANGE!

    It is no accident that the countries that have become leaders in the world today are the ones which successfully allowed effective generations of leaders to emerge, albeit seamlessly. The Chinese Communist Party is an example. While some would question the democratic credentials of such a leadership recruitment and selection process, the fact that cannot be denied is that emergence into a position of leadership in China is based on careful preparation. And this process has over the past three decades delivered the stupendous rates of growth that have today transformed China from a backwater into the world’s second leading economy.

    The path that forward-looking societies and organisations toe is courageous leadership orientation. Edo State will only be placed on the path of progress, growth and development when we get our leadership question resolved. It is indispensable for success in any vocation and it is time for Edo people to urgently start the process of disallowing untutored and untested persons from mounting the saddle of leadership.

    The reason is that it is the character of a country’s institutions and the aptitude of its populace that determined its success. The basic truth is that where the people failed to chose their leaders, or prevented from doing so, there will be dearth of motivations, development and political institutions will suffer. Where these basic determinants prevailed, development will never occur.

    The governor can better be appreciated when his leadership personifies the ideals and orientation of passing the baton of leadership to worthy successor whose public and private sectors career has elevated standard; created verifiable growth and jobs, promoted fairness, intensified productivity, reduced graft and encouraged sustainable development.

    Whoever succeeds Governor Oshiomhole must be conversant with the nitty-gritty of the dynamics and synergy of the three arms of government – the executive, legislature and judiciary and maintain a working balance for the benefit and well-being of all Edo people. His successor should be able to deploy his cognate experience (especially in the public sector and governance sector) and positive networks to enhance and strengthen the levers of the good governance of Edo State as the craze now is Development Through Competition.

    At the last count, more than seven aspirants having been jostling for the Edo top job, under the All Progressives Congress, APC platform alone. The same goes for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but very many of the aspirants are reluctant to address the issues of developing Edo State beyond the present level. That Edo State was in a parlous state until Governor Oshiomhole came on the rescue mission was partly because the people were easily deceived into cueing behind make-believed leaders who are far removed from development initiative.

    Governor Oshiomhole’s steady and cautious leadership which has seen the development of many sectors of the state’s economy will definitely bring about far-reaching development if the governor gets the succession struggles right. The Achilles’s heel of Africa leaders, i.e, “area of weakness or vulnerable spot” is the succession crisis that constantly plagues, hurts and arrests development which further yields grounds to comatose infrastructure, abandoned projects and grand looting.

    The writer Chinua Achebe once declared that the problem with Nigeria is the problem of leadership. No one can agree with the literary icon less. However, having identified the problem, the search for solutions should now engage our earnest attention and energy for sustainable leadership. The lack of adequate preparation for political leadership, especially in public life, is a critical missing link in our search for solutions.

    A few weeks ago, Edo State under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole marked the 7th anniversary of his stewardship as the governor of the state. The event hugely tell the story of the governor’s visible achievement and provides an opportunity both for stock taking and for looking ahead. It is also a good time to reflect further on the challenge of leadership and succession, especially at this point in our national life, when our country is passing through arguably the greatest existential threat of Boko Haram; poor resource generation, lack of basic amenities, collapsed education, lack of health facilities, tax crisis, corruption and the like to its corporate survival since the Civil War.

    To resolve  these crises, largely cause by the dearth of effective leadership, Edo people, the APC and Governor Oshiomhole must carefully and studiously  planned thier succession process to avoid the consequence of accidental leadership; stunted development and building of enduring systems that utilise experience of people who have occupied leading positions in the country to fly the party’s flag.

    Amongst the lots angling for  Oshiomhole’s job after November 2016 is Christopher Aigbovbiosa Ogiemwonyi. He holds the ace given his giant strides and successes in the management of human, material and financial resources at national and international levels. His daunting credential of successes sets him head and shoulder above the mottling of crowds racing to Osadebe’s Avenue. It was his known steadfast commitment to development that led to his appointment as the Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Works from 2010 to 2011.

    Looking at his background, Chris Ogiemwonyi stands out as the leader and most experienced administrator and manager of men and resources with over 30 years of work experience in the oil and gas industry. All those years, there is no telling that he brought to bear his exceptional management skills and professional competence on the job as one time General Manager of National Petroleum Investments Management Services (NAPIMS).

    The vacuum that will be created by Oshiomhole’s exit on November 12, 2016 can rightly be filled by Engineer Ogiemwonyi. The expectation of the APC delegates across the 18 local governments; 191 wards and 2,627 Polling Units is to vote for a governorship candidate whose experience in both public and private is solid enough to take Edo State to the next level. Engineer Chris Ogiemwonyi fill that bill.

     

    • Ikhueoya writes in from Benin City, Edo State capital

     

  • Oshiomhole vs. Niger Delta vultures

    Last week, in a rehash of ‘rent-a crowd’, an art perfected by Niger Delta wheelers and dealers as leaders when confronted with their betrayals of the poor on whose name they swear, sponsored demonstrating half-naked women who claimed to be “mothers, sisters and aunts to Chief Igbinedion”, descended on the ancient city of Benin threatening to go completely naked if Oshiomhole fails to stop ‘insulting elders from Benin Kingdom’.  Governor Oshiomhole’s offence was his announcement that his government had begun moves to recover $31million  “fraudulently taken” from the government coffers, during Igbinedion’s administration and resolved to revert the conversion ‘to private use, of government properties and funds meant for the people of the state’ by the former governor and his father, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.

    The Niger Delta itself is a land of extremes where the masses of the people wallow in abject poverty while a small segment of their political elite, described by Saro Wiwa as ‘vultures’ feed on the blood of the vulnerable in their midst. They erect mansions in major cities of the world, and fly in private jets to visit their homes in Warri, Asaba, Port Hacourt, Uyo and Yenagoa. Saro Wiwa, a witty playwright and environmental right activist and  one of Africa’s brightest ‘sun’ killed by Africa, strongly believed  the Niger Delta vultures are responsible for the prolonged nightmare of his people.

    Adam Oshiomhole, whose life-long commitment has been the protection of the disadvantaged, shares with Saro Wiwa not only a striking physical semblance, stubborn suicidal instinct but also the passion for the impoverished people of Niger Delta. Like Saro Wiwa, Governor Oshiomhole is not afraid to confront those he believes are parasites sucking the blood of the impoverished people of the Niger Delta.

    First it was Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the former Minister of Finance whose ministry he accused of unauthorized withdrawal of $2.1b from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) and of colluding with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to withhold huge sum of money that ought to have been transferred to the federation account. He also took on Diezani Alison-Madueke, the immediate past minister of petroleum who he claimed supervised the theft of about N1.6 trillion by some PDP stalwarts and their offspring under the guise of fuel subsidy when  in reality ‘they never imported a pint of fuel’.  On November 5, he picked on Lucky Igbinedion, his predecessor in office and his father, the respected Esama of Benin, accusing them of betraying the trust of those who looked up to them for protection.

    But Igbinedion has shot back asking Oshiomhole to “tell the people about properties he allegedly acquired in the last seven years in Dubai, Cape Town in South Africa, in San Francisco, United States of America, a high rise apartment in Atlanta also in America and in London. He is calling everybody a thief but Oshiomhole is the biggest thief in Benin City today.”

    Igbinedion’s friends in the judiciary have reminded the governor, in case he has forgotten, that ‘the law empowers a sitting governor to allocate lands to people, including his own father’.  Is Oshiomhole himself not allocating lands to people as a sitting governor they sneered?  And as if to justify Lucky Igbinedion’s actions, Oshiomhole was told that by 1952, the year he was born, Chief Igbinedion had built a mansion in Benin and was wealthy enough to donate two houses to the then newly created Mid-west in 1963.

    As part of the battle for the minds of the Edo people, Igbinedion said he was revealing for the first time how much contribution his father and Tony Anenih, his godfather made to his administration.  According to him, “They borrowed the state money. It is documented and you have it there. When the banks could not trust us, I went to them. My father just felt you have got to do what you have got to do. There were days the pensioners would cry to him or block the road to Government House. We had to run to them just to keep the government run­ning.” Impetuous Governor Oshiomhole, there you have it. Pa Igbinedion and Anenih (the fixer) were jointly richer than Edo State when Lucky held sway.

    But that cannot be the end of the narrative. To ascertain if indeed Niger Delta vultures are really behind the nightmare of the impoverished masses of Niger Delta as hypothesized by Saro Wiwa, a prejudice swallowed by Oshiomhole, a quick recourse to memory is required to complete the narrative.

    Let us start with Lucky Igbinedion himself. He was after his tenure as governor dragged to court by EFCC and slammed with 191 court charges including the theft of N25b. This was reduced to one count of corruption summarized as ‘false declaration of account’, after plea bargaining. An Enugu Federal High Court presided over by Justice Abdullahi Kafarati later sentenced him to six months in prison with the option of a N3.5 million fine which many considered a slap on the wrist. With the plea bargain agreement he reached with the EFCC, he was required to return N500 million and forfeit three of the houses he acquired with stolen public funds to the Federal Government.

    Ibori who perfectly fits Saro Wiwa’s vulture characterization was first arraigned in Kaduna. But his associates in the judiciary curiously won their argument that he could only be tried in Asaba. Since there was no Federal High Court in Asaba, Dr. Ewetan Uduaghan, secretary to Ibori government,  who went on to succeed him as Delta State governor, quickly donated two government buildings for the purpose. The Asaba Federal High Court created for Ibori and presided over by Justice Marcel Awokulehin wasted no time in discharging and acquitting James Ibori of all of the 170-count charges of corruption, involving the laundering of millions of dollars, filed against him by EFCC.  But this did not stop a London court that described Ibori as ‘a criminal in government house’ from jailing him for 13 years after pleading guilty to some of the offences for which he had been acquitted by Asaba Federal High Court.

    And finally we can add Alamieyeseigha, the ‘Ijaw Governor-General’. While his influential Nigerian associates insisted the people of Niger Delta had no problem with their governor-general over his husbandry of their resources, the governments of Britain, United States, South Africa, Bahamas and Seychelles as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank under the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative’ were not impressed. They went on to list his portfolio of foreign assets which included accounts with five banks in the UK and further accounts with banks in Cyprus, Denmark and the United States; four London properties acquired for a total of £4.8m; a Cape Town harbour penthouse acquired for almost £1m, assets in the United States, and almost £1m in cash stored in one of his London properties. Britain’s Metropolitan Police went on to charge him to court from where he jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. And when Ribadu finally secured his conviction in Nigeria, ex-President Jonathan his fellow Ijaw man granted him a presidential amnesty.

    Membership of Saro Wiwa’s Niger Delta vultures is spread among the political, economic, intellectual and military classes as well as the judiciary and the press. With Igbinedion, the convict now playing the victim while casting the governor as the villain, Oshiomhole must have now realized that embarking on a crusade against Niger Delta vultures is like going on a suicide mission as Saro Wiwa discovered too late.

  • Govt must stop quacks in medical profession, says Oshiomhole

    Govt must stop quacks in medical profession, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said governments must fight quackery in the medical profession.

    The governor spoke yesterday when the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, visited him in Benin, the state capital.

    Oshiomhole said quackery in the medical profession had become embarrassing, adding that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would put the nation back on the right track.

    He said: “We must revisit the issue of regulation: the minimum requirement you must meet to establish a hospital and a private clinic. Clinics ought to, at best, function as a referral centre, to hear complaints and refer patients to appropriate hospitals. But now, one doctor, a general doctor, performs the role of a gynaecologist, neurologist, dentist, eye surgeon and all sorts of things. The result is that a lot of cases, which could have been managed quietly, get complicated before they are referred to the right hospitals.

    “Between the federal and state governments, I think we need to have a dialogue and see how we can review the laws as regards the minimum requirements to establish a private hospital and the limit to what a private hospital can do. There are too many quacks who masquerade as doctors.

    “You must have found it quite embarrassing that even in the Federal Ministry of Health, under the previous government, a fake doctor was functioning, getting promotions and contributing to public policy formulation. It took a couple of years to find out he was never a doctor.

    “It shows how rotten everything has become, that somebody, not in my village but in Abuja, was hiding and purporting to be a doctor at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters under the supervision of professors of Health, who had been ministers and Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of the federation.

    “Too many things have gone wrong. But as I have always told our people, our party is not in power to lament but to learn the right lessons and to confront those issues squarely and build a new Nigeria from the ashes of the old and give our people the confidence and restore integrity to public institutions, whether it is health care, education, and others…”

     

  • Oshiomhole: I’m not afraid of Igbinedion

    Oshiomhole: I’m not afraid of Igbinedion

    •Edo women urge Bini chief to apologise to governor

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said he is not afraid to tell the truth about the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.

    The governor vowed to publish activities of the chief’s son and former Governor Lucky Igbinedion, who led the state from 1999 to 2007.

    Oshiomhole spoke yesterday in Benin, the state capital, when thousands of women in white attire marched on the streets of the ancient city, demanding an apology from Chief Igbinedion to the residents.

    The women carried placards with various inscriptions, such as: “Esama, leave Oshiomhole alone”; “Chief Igbinedion, stop using youths and women to cause trouble”; “Edo people must move forward”; “Oshiomhole, Edo people are proud of you” and “Igbinedion, go and pay Land Use charge.”

    Some women in red attire, popularly called “Ododo”, last week, protested at the Emotan Shrine about the governor’s alleged invectives on the Esama and his policies.

    Yesterday’s protesters were said to have come from the three senatorial districts.

    They said Oshiomhole brought infrastructural development to the riverine areas.

    One of the speakers said: “We have seen your good work. We came to tell you not to be afraid. We hear what people are saying, but we are behind you. Nothing will happen to you.”

    Oshiomhole said he would be ashamed to talk in public, if two of his children were convicted for corruption and money laundering.

    The governor said some Okada residents sued Chief Igbinedion for allegedly “grabbing” their land.

    Reacting to the allegation by Lucky that he bought houses in some choice cities of the world, Oshiomhole said he built his country home in 1990.

    He said: “Chief Igbinedion and his son dragged the Oba (of Benin) to court. Have you forgotten? If an old man is a thief and I called him a thief, did I disgrace him?

    “They are putting your money in their pockets and they say they are rich. They sold government houses to themselves.

    “Should I be quiet to what is wrong? I only reveal what they stole in government and they have not denied it. I will not respect a thief. I will not worship a thief, if everybody else worships the thief.”

     

  • I will handover to APC candidate – Oshiomhole

    I will handover to APC candidate – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has said that he would handover to a governor who has passion for the state and elected on the platform of the All Progressive Congress.

    The governor said his successor must be a person that has managerial competence to drive and ensure that the state witness more growth and development than during his tenure.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke in a chat with journalists, boasted that it would be an easy defeat for the Peoples Democratic Party in next year’s governorship election.

    He said his administration has rediscovered the state and gave the people confidence that Edo is viable.

    He noted that the challenge for his successor would be on how to work on some feeder roads and connect adjoining streets.

    He said,”Today the Edo man has regained confidence, there is no question now that the state is capable of developing and that we can do something about the problem of infrastructure, flooding, restoring integrity to public schools and restoring integrity to public health care system.”

    “The problem we are having in Edo today is that PDP cannot show you one clean road with street light, with drainage that they did that is still there. The only thing you can see are the ones Ogbemudia did. If the PDP had laid some foundations we would have gone far today, we started form minus and minus to zero.”

    “But the next governor is going to build on plus plus plus. And I am confident that the next governor will come from APC because the PDP has neither the messenger nor can they have a credible message.”