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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • Jonathan’s transformation has deformed Nigeria —Oshiomhole

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State says the transformation agenda of the present administration has failed to make any meaningful impact on the country, and rather than transform the country, President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda has rather deformed the country.

    Speaking after a road walk tagged “March for Buhari” which started from Oba Ovoranwen square, the city Centre, and culminated in a mass rally in the New Benin area of the state capital, Monday, Oshiomhole said Nigerians have the opportunity on Saturday to vote out the government which has failed them in the past 16 years.

    Oshiomhole said the Jonathan administration has abused the trust of the people and should be voted out.

    He said: “I have seen the huge gap between the promise and the reality. Nigeria today is 16 years into democracy. Governments have come and made promises, they have abused the trust of our people.

    “On Saturday, Nigerians are being called upon, there will be a referendum, a referendum of every Nigerian from the age of 18 and above who is equipped with his PVC will have to make a decision that will define the future of our great nation and indeed the future of the black race.

    “What are the issues? We have two items on the menu chart. One group insists that they want continuity. They even insist that Nigeria has been transformed and we have another group of people who say that Nigeria needs change. Change to a better future.

    “Now people are asking, what is the content of this change, what are we changing to? What are we changing from and like those who want continuity, transformation, what have we transformed?

    “For those that say they want continuity, what is it we want to continue with? 16 years into democracy, Africa’s most populous nation, most naturally endowed nation under one party for 16 years even the poor are using generator, the rich are using generator, even the villa is using generator. For 16 years, PDP failed to deliver on one of the most fundamental issues in the Nigerian economy, the issue of power supply.

    “Without power supply, nothing will work; the local woman cannot grind her cassava except there is a generator to power the grinding machine, the local businessman who tries to start a small scale business needs a generator to run his business. Who wants us to continue in the dark? Are they saying we should continue living in darkness?

    “PHCN does not give you light for months and yet they ask you, a democratic country, a free country to pay fixed charges even when they deliver fixed darkness. Who says we should continue with this condition?

    “The primary purpose of government is to protect its citizen. When the Nigerian Government offers protection to private people to extort money even in the dark that is a crime against humanity. Even in the days of dictatorship, we were never so ruthlessly exploited.

    “Today, Nigeria is importing petroleum products. As we import these products, NNPC tells us that they are subsidizing your kerosene for N50. They ship about $30 million taxpayer’s money, they give it to themselves at $10 million and they pocket $20 million and share it among themselves. Today a litre of kerosene is sold for N150 yet NNPC says they are subsidizing it to N50.

    “When a government allows the poor to be so ruthlessly exploited, from Edo State to Lagos state, to Bayelsa state, to River state, to Sokoto State, all over Nigeria. Do you want this to continue?

    “Where is the transformation? They have transformed refineries that were working when General Buhari was the Minister of Petroleum to refineries that are not working. This issue is about common sense. When the Warri refinery was working, many of our people were working there, earning good salaries, adding value. When General Buhari was head of State, all our refineries were working. He refused to take the IMF Loan. N1 was equivalent to $1 but today, $1 is N230.

    “There was no single reported case of kidnapping in Nigeria before PDP took over power in Nigeria. I ask you on Saturday to make a choice. I have made my choice. Who wants to continue with unemployment where Government invited young people to apply for job in the Immigration service and everybody was compelled to pay N1, 000. That money is illegal. Somebody made N800 million out of poor Nigerian youths. If government will not protect the unemployed, who will protect them?

    “We want to change the story. We want to change from darkness to light so that when you put on your light, it works. If Ghana can achieve 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply, why can’t we do it? We want to change from generator that is noisy, polluting the environment to power supply that is reliable. We want to remove the fraud that was committed in the name of privatization and they disrupt power supply.

    “Fixed charges will be abolished in APC government. General Buhari will not allow any body to be made to pay when power is not delivered. No light, no pay.

    “When people have done bad things and you ask them to account, they resort to ethnicity and religion. I ask you to find courage to interrogate all those miscreants who are preaching message of hate, who wants to pitch Christians against Muslims. They say Buhari will Islamize Nigeria. General Buhari was a military Head of State with both Executive and Legislative Power did he Islamize Nigeria?

    “It is true he sent some people to jail but did he jail innocent people? He jailed corrupt people and he will jail corrupt people again. There is no running away from it. That is why they are afraid, that is the message.

    “So I ask you to stand up. You must be on your feet.

    “Yesterday (Monday), I read in the newspaper that some people are doing a show of force but today we are doing a show of the people’s power.”

  • Oshiomhole greets NLC president

    Former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has congratulated the President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, on his election.

    He urged him to provide a focused and dynamic leadership for the labour movement.

    Oshiomhole also appealed to those who feel aggrieved by the outcome of the Congress to resist the temptation of convening a factional congress either on Friday or at any other date.

    The governor asked them to sheathe their swords and extend a hand of fellowship to the new president to help reposition the congress.

    Oshiomhole, in a congratulatory letter addressed to the NLC President, said his election was “a befitting recognition of your leadership capabilities, sound trade union antecedents, loyalty and commitment to the Nigerian labour movement.

    “It must be obvious to you by now, Comrade President, that the Nigerian Labour Movement, and in particular, the congress has lost a significant amount of prestige and influence in the eyes of the Nigerian working people and the Nigerian public at large.

    “The Nigerian people no longer see the congress as the ‘voice of voiceless’ and a bulwark against socio-economic and political oppression and injustices in the polity.

     “It is against this background that your leadership must see its historic role beyond the “bread and butter” issues, to re-assert its independence, re-connect with grassroots workers, including the forgotten rural majority and position itself as a major player in shaping Nigeria’s polity, economy and society consistent with the true traditions of the congress and the interests of the Nigerian working families”.

    He also urged the NLC leadership to reposition and unite the congress, face the challenge as well as expectations of the affiliates of the congress and Nigerians.

    To the losers in the election, the governor said: “Let me seize this opportunity to appeal to my comrades, in particular, Comrades Joe Ajaero, Issa Aremu and Igwe  Achese  to resist the temptation of convening a factional congress either on Friday or at any other date.

    “Having fought the good fight, there is honour in conceding to defeat even in the face of imperfections.”

  • Jonathan’s govt has divided Nigerians, say Tinubu, Oshiomhole

    Jonathan’s govt has divided Nigerians, say Tinubu, Oshiomhole

    The Jonathan Presidency has bitterly divided Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole said yesterday.

    Lamenting the situation, both leaders canvassed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government should be voted out on March 28.

    Tinubu spoke in Amuwo Odofin in Lagos during a rally in support of the APC Lagos State governorship candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode. Oshiomhole spoke while receiving hundreds of defectors to the APC in Edo State.

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and his Imo State counterpart Rochas Okorocha, among others, also spoke at the Lagos rally.

    Okorocha announced that seven PDP governors would join the APC.

    Tinubu urged the electorate not to fall for the campaign of calumny by the PDP, using religion and ethnicity to polarise the country.

    “The over 15 years of PDP rule in the country merely points to failure. Jonathan tells you a pathetic story that when he was in school he had no shoe. ‘I am from a poor family; I know what poverty is’; now he has forgotten.

    “Now he has plenty shoes, plenty clothes and plenty hats, but does that put gari on your table? If you spend five hours at the gas station without light for your business, is that what we want? They even ask you to pay for the electricity that you did not use. So, that is double jeopardy, by paying for diesel that you did not consume and electricity that was never utilised by you. In that situation, do you want them to continue?

    “In our schools in Lagos, did we register you on the basis of your tribe? Did we discriminate in our school fees? I am sure you are all aware of how we do things in Lagos. We believe we are the same, so we treat everybody equally. After six years, they have not been able to do anything meaningful for the people.

    “It is time for them to leave, to allow those with ideas and capability to lead the country. They do not have the skills to run effective government, so they need to go back and take the position of apprenticeship,” he said.

    Tinubu railed against ethnicism.

    He said:  ”God decided the language you speak and the tribe you were born in to. It is not your choice; it is the choice of God.  When you get to the hospital do you see Christian or Muslim section? Do you see Igbo, Yoruba or Ijaw ward? We are one people.

    “Does hunger or poverty have tribal mark? Can you go to an Igbo bread seller and say I am an Igbo man, I need bread? Can you go to a Yoruba woman selling roasted plantain and tell her to give you one because you are a Yoruba person? The road is not labeled Muslim, Christian, or Obatala road?  Let not these people continue to deceive us.

    “Those of you travelling with flights; for instance Dubai, when you want to board the plane, do you ask about the name, tribe or religion of the pilot. All you simply do is to pray to God for a safe flight.”

    Tinubu said the government had not been able to provide employment and insurance cover for soldiers in the battle front against Boko Haram, but the PDP-led Federal Government is going about distributing foreign currencies to woo voters.

    “Soldiers and police who are working in danger. Their insurance has not been paid, but they are busy bribing people for votes,” Tinubu said.

    Oshiomhole accused the PDP of stoking religious sentiments to sway voters, adding that its desperation, the PDP has bought some church leaders to preach against the APC and taint it as a Muslim party.

    He warned the PDP not to polarise the country along religious lines, saying it is dangerous for the polity as both Christians and Moslems have been victims of what he called the PDP’s misrule in the past 16 years.

    According to him, the PDP has made copies of a documentary which has been distributed in churches to the effect that the Gen. Muhammau Buhari (the APC presidential candidate)  would Islamise the country when voted as the President on March 28.

    He said: “Some pastors after collecting money are now preaching that Buhari wants to convert the nation to Islam. When Buhari was Head of State with absolute power, did he convert Nigeria to Islam? Did he convert Dodan Barracks to Islam enclave? Are there not Christian Generals all over the place?

    “The issue of this election is not about religion or tribe. It is about who has what it takes to repair our country. It is about who will give us light. If PDP couldn’t give us light in 16 years, shouldn’t we give it to someone else? Take a critical look at this election, when NEPA takes light, do they segregate between Christians and Muslims? When they bring fixed charges, do they differentiate between Christians and Moslem? Are both Christians and Moslems not suffering the inefficiency of PDP’s 16 years of mis-governance?

    “They are saying APC is a Muslim party. How can a party that parades Christians, such as me, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and many others, be described as a Moslem party? Now let’s look at it, if Nigeria’s problem is about religion, since 1999 till now, Christians have ruled the nation for 14 years, how come if it is really about religion that despite ruling for 14 years, Nigeria that ought to be like heaven is still like hell?

    “Nobody should use God’s name to deceive the people. The matter of governance is not about what you claim but about the state of your heart. In this state, from 1999 till now, all those that have governed Edo State are all Christians yet those that governed from 1999 till 2007 did nothing. Are we not all Christians but is it all of us that worked? They even stole from church because when you do not pay salaries for three months can the workers pay their tithe?

    ”In Edo State, Christians, Muslims and traditional worshippers live together in peace and harmony. Across Edo State you find people of different religions and nobody should bring religious war to Edo State.”

  • Oshiomhole: Edo 200-bed hospital ready this year

    Oshiomhole: Edo 200-bed hospital ready this year

    EDO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has reassured that the ultra-modern Central Hospital in Benin, the state capital, will be ready before the end of this year.

    The governor spoke yesterday when he visited the site of the project to ascertain the level of work.

    Following the inspection, he said: “The important thing is that going round, the people who are passing by don’t know how much work is going on inside. As you can see, about 300 persons are working here virtually seven days in a week.

    “The idea is to see that we don’t compromise quality so that we can achieve quality and speed, because our people are in a hurry to use this facility.

    “From what I have seen here, the quality is okay. I think there is no question that we have a first-class hospital under construction. Our people will be happy that in the end, we have come up with the best hospital in the country, by the time it is completed.

    “Indeed, all other things been equal, we will have facilities here that we will be able to say this is the best hospital in the country.

    “There are two other things you need to achieve. First, you need state-of-the-art equipment and then employ the finest brains to man the equipment. Having invested as much as we are doing, we cannot compromise on the human element.

    “I am confident that our people will be proud of what they are going to find.”

  • Oshiomhole: we must vote PDP out

    Oshiomhole: we must vote PDP out

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will suffer defeat in the March 28 and April 11 polls.

    He spoke while kicking off the reconstruction and dualisation of the 3.6km 2nd East Circular Road in Benin City, the state capital.

    The governor said: “They say the half of the money Comrade is using is from Federal Government. So, the one you took for 10 years, where is the money? So when they say Federal Government is the one supporting Comrade, the question then is: was the PDP Federal Government withholding money from PDP Edo State government in the past 10 years? If it is true that it is only APC government that knows how to collect money from PDP Federal Government, is that not a reason to keep PDP out of government forever?

    “If I can collect money from PDP Federal Government to build the number of red roofs we have done, imagine if that same Federal Government is now in the hands of APC, will they not give us more money to build more red roofs and other infrastructure? We can never return to Egypt, we will move on.

    The only thing I plead for is that this coming election they have postponed by 6 weeks, we must vote them out so I ask you to maintain peace, spread the message and on March 28, vote for change at the Federal Level.

    “Vote for change because we need to raise the political awareness. Those who said they were helpless over Boko Haram suddenly now say that in six weeks, they will do what they couldn’t do in 6 years which means somebody knew what should be done but failed to do it so they can use it as an excuse to postpone elections.”

    On the road, he said: “We are not resurfacing the old East Circular Road. What we are doing is a complete redesign and reconstruction. We are replacing the old 7-meter wide road with 14.5 meters wide dual carriage road so that this road will no longer be just one road but it will be dual carriage way complete with street lights and a median with plants and trees.

    “We will also ensure that on both sides of the road, that drains are provided for and that those drains are covered so they don’t breed mosquitoes that will disturb the market women. This is the kind of road you will find anywhere in the world. I believe that the people of this community deserve everything that Government can do because we gave always won election in this part of this area.

    “We must dedicate and recognise that this work has been made possible because we have had in the House of Assembly, men and woman who believe that Edo State government project should be designed in a way that will deliver the greatest happiness to the greatest number. Without the support and the legal backing by the Hon. Speaker, Uyi Igbe this road will not have been possible.”

    Commissioner for Works Hon. Osarodion Ogie said the road has not been worked on in the past 50 years.

    He said: “Last year you paid a visit to this area and did promise that this road was going to be reconstructed. What we are seeing today is a fulfillment of that promise you made to the people of this community. This road is one of the three main arteries roads connecting Sapele roads through Sakponba Road to Akpakpava Road and they are major roads that involve a lot of commercial activities.

    “Those now showing 2nd East Circular Road on television were in government for 10 years but forgot that this road needed to be constructed but today you have shown in your usual way that when government says something, it carries it out.”

    The leader of the traders in the area, Mrs. Blacky Omorogie, said the road had been impassable for the past 20 years and thanked the governor for his bold move to reconstruct the road.

  • My best moment as NLC president – Oshiomhole

    My best moment as NLC president – Oshiomhole

    Edo State governor, Adams Oshimhole, Monday reflected on his tenure as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and concluded that the best moment of his eight years reign as the union’s helmsman was when former President Olusegun Obasanjo accused him of running a parallel government.

    Oshiomhole, who spoke for over one hour at the opening ceremony of the 11th Delegate Conference of the NLC in Abuja, said although Obasanjo practically accused him of treason, the allegation made him stronger to stand on the side of the workers whose mandate he was holding.

    He also accused the government of not living up to its promises to the workers, stressing that when Obasanjo assumed office, he promised that the power problem in the country will be over in six months if the money was made available.

    He said, “It is now 16 years and the money was made available. But we still don’t have power. They have privatized the power sector and yet there is no power.”

    He said with the current situation in the country, the NLC cannot afford to remain passive and watch events unfold, adding that the union must ask critical questions and demand answers.

    The governor added: “We as Nigerians are democrats and we understand the rules of democracy. If the ruling class has challenges in understanding the essence of democracy, and in submitting to the logic of democracy, they are not a representation of the Nigerian spirit.

    “This is the school of democracy, this is the school of democrats and in Edo state, we have demonstrated that once you pass through this school, it will equip you with the necessary tools to enable democracy to flourish. I want to thank you for those skills and for all that we learnt together.”

     

  • Anenih’ll fail again in Edo, says Oshiomhole

    Anenih’ll fail again in Edo, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Chief Tony Anenih has a long history of frustrating the will of the people.

    But the governor noted that the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) member would fail with his latest project to secure another term for President Goodluck Jonathan, having failed in all previous elections in the state since he (Oshiomhole) came to power.

    Oshiomhole spoke yesterday at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Ekpoma, Edo Central Senatorial District.

    The governor said the people of Esan should ask Anenih the role he played in the humiliation, rigging and eventual incarceration of the late Bendel State Governor Prof Ambrose Alli.

    According to him, the time had come for the people Esan to know who played what role in the development of the area.

    Oshiomhole urged the people to be wary of the antics and lies of expired godfathers whose stock in trade is to mislead and deceive the people.

    He said: “The people must know the truth. Once upon a time, Bendel people – from Delta to Edo – elected one of your sons, Prof Ambrose Alli of blessed memory. He was elected not only by Esan people but by the entire Bendel State. He established today’s Ambrose Alli University. You cannot forget the roads he built in Esan and beyond Esan land. Who removed Ambrose Alli from power? The defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and their chieftains in Esanland did.”

    Oshiomhole added: “Chief Anenih came here to say it was General Muhammadu Buhari who jailed Ambrose Alli. You voted for Alli but we all know who removed him. They declared somebody else a winner and declared Alli the loser in an election that he won; that’s exactly what they did to me. Anenih must be told part of his sins against Esan people for which he will never be forgiven.

    “He can never rewrite history. He cannot run away from his own shadow. The sins he committed against Ambrose Alli will never be forgiven. He must be punished with your votes. I was shocked they have gone to recruit one of Alli’s daughters to join them to campaign.

    “The lady needs to think again. You cannot dine with the people who removed the crown from the head of your father. So, when they say Gen. Buhari was the Head of State when Alli was jailed, do you know what they jailed Alli for? It was because Alli gave a contract to a leader who is a top notcher in the PDP today. The man did not do the job. That was what led to the military investigation of Alli.

    “Never again should they come to lie to you. I have given you several reasons why the PDP must go and APC must come. I urge you to go home and spread the good news. We want General Buhari to come. They say he has no certificate but he became a General.”

    At other rallies at Ikpoba Okha and Oredo local government areas in Edo South Senatorial District, Oshiomhole said: “From Otuoke to Benin City to Lagos to Ekpoma to Iyahmo to Sokoto, kerosene is now between N150 and N160 per litre. For every N150 you spend in buying kerosene, the PDP steals N100 because in the books of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), they have it on records that kerosene is N50 per litre.”

  • Why Edo won’t vote for Jonathan, by Oshiomhole

    Why Edo won’t vote for Jonathan, by Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said President Goodluck Jonathan abandoned the state in the last six years that he has been in office, despite securing 95 per cent votes from the state during his re-election in 2011.

    The governor said the people had become wiser and would vote out the President on February 14 for abandoning them.

    Oshiomhole spoke at the weekend at the All Progressives Congress (APC) rallies in Ehor, Uhumwode Local Government Area and at Igueben, Igueben Local Government Area.

    The governor said despite several letters his administration wrote to the Federal Government for assistance on the erosion ravaging parts of the state, the Jonathan administration still abandoned Edo State.

    He said: “The last time, we voted for President Jonathan. He got 95 per cent of the total votes in Edo State. Yet, I cannot think of any meaningful thing he has done in the state.

    “We have written volumes of letters to Abuja on the Queen Ede erosion site. That erosion was caused by the Federal Government as a result of the design errors in the course of constructing the road to Asaba. It started as a small erosion. But over time, it has escalated.”

    Oshiomhole added: “I have written for support from the Ecological Funds, which we are entitled to, to rebuild and reclaim the place. It has destroyed some houses, farmlands and a secondary school. Right now, it has almost destroyed a Catholic church. Yet, the Federal Government has not done anything.

    “Last year, President Jonathan gave N2 billion each to some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) states, even where he lost election, to deal with erosion. Those that don’t have flood erosion were given money for desertification. But we in Edo State, who voted for him, got nothing.

    “I am not lamenting this. We have learnt from it and we are determined not to repeat our mistakes. But the good news is that we have secured funds from the World Bank on our own effort to rebuild Queen Ede erosion and restore it and save the lives, farmlands and the property of the people who live around there. Soon, the construction work will start.

    “For 16 years, the only Federal thing I see in Edo State is the resurfacing of Ofosu up to Benin old dual carriage way, which they only started after our government decided to construct additional lanes to Ugbowo. I can’t see any other thing they have done in 16 years.”

    On the failure of the PDP-led Federal Government to prosecute those indicted in last year’s ill-fated Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment, Oshiomhole said it showed that Jonathan does not care about the welfare of the Nigerian youth.

    He said: “Young people were defrauded in the name of providing jobs. They were asked to pay N1,000 to apply for Federal jobs that did not exist, illegally using consultants in clear breach of Federal laws.

    “The PDP-led Federal Government defrauded our youths to the tune of N800 million. They organised a mock interview, using various stadia across the country and young people’s lives were wasted.

    “The minister who presided over this national fraud was given honours. For the PDP, this is a normal way of life; not one person was punished. Several people died. Last week, the relatives of those who died in Benin were protesting to us that the Federal Government had not given them even the jobs they promised.”

    The governor urged the people to vote out the PDP at the federal and other levels and in the country. He said: “I believe that with General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria will be in a safer hand, beginning with security. Under the PDP, security has completely collapsed. Insurgents have taken over our land. People are now afraid to go to church or mosque to worship.

  • Oshiomhole sacks two commissioners

    Oshiomhole sacks two commissioners

    •Governor names replacements, two aides

    Edo State Transport Commissioner Orobosa Omo-Ojo and his Lands and Survey counterpart, Donald Osikhena-Boih, have been sacked.

    No reasons were given for their sack.

    Two new commissioners and two Deputy Chiefs of Staff were appointed.

    Those appointed are: Joseph Ayegbeni Ugheoke, Kenneth Edebiri, Saturday Idehen Uwulekhue and Prestly Ediagboya.

    A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said Oshiomhole also appointed two Deputy Chiefs of Staff – former House of Assembly’s Majority Leader Frank Okiye (Administration) and Mr. Kenneth Ehesikhien (Political Matters).

    It said the names of the commissioner-nominees had been forwarded to the House of Assembly for screening.

  • Oshiomhole gives 150 fire victims N20m

    EDO State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has promised to give N20m to 150 traders whose goods and stores were burnt in a fire incident at the Uromi main market. Governor Oshiomhole made the announcement when he paid an on-the-spot assessment visit to the market. It will be recalled that a mysterious fire gutted the market last month, destroying a large part of the market. Oshiomhole praised the local government Chairman, Sam Oboh, for building a new modern market, and promised to assist for a quick completion of the market.