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Tag: Oshiomhole

  • Oshiomhole commissions classrooms

    Oshiomhole commissions classrooms

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole yesterday commissioned a block of eight classrooms and a headmaster’s office renovated by the New Covenant Bible Church at Evbuobanosa, Orhiorhwon Local Government Area.

    Oshiomhole said the government will take development to the communities and demonstrate that the people in the rural areas are not inferior to those in the urban areas.

    According to the governor, deliberate steps will be taken to take development to the rural communities.

    “When we politicians and leaders lament about rural drift, people moving away from villages, rushing to the cities, we sermonise about the need for people to remain where they are.

    “Those sermons will amount to nothing if we do not take deliberate steps to bring development to our rural communities.”

  • Why my govt is popular, by Oshiomhole

    Why my govt is popular, by Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole was a guest of Gbenga Aruleba on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) last week. He spoke on the activities of his administration and other partisan issues.

     

    What is your reaction to the condem- nation of the recent local government elections by the PDP?

    If the election was popular with the opposition, it means it conformed with the standard of the opposition. And who is the opposition in this case, it is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Their record concerning the conduct of election is an open secret. They do not believe in one-man, one-vote. They believe in thuggery, they believe in falsification of results, they believe in declaring winners and losers. It is the culture they have entrenched since 1999. So, if the oppositions were to celebrate what we have done, then something must be wrong. I think what matters are the views of the independent observers on ground because election is not a mystery that people cannot see through. But to start from the point you made, I assumed office on November 12, 2008. As of that time, all the local governments were under the control of the PDP. On December 16, 2007, everybody in Edo State including distant and close observers will confirm this, there was no election whatsoever that year.

    As they say, two wrongs don’t make a right. It is precisely because of this culture of rigging, this culture of imposition that formed the basis of my campaign for one-man, one-vote, and my campaign against rigging, against imposition.

    Given our track record, we have always won election since I assumed office. In the National Assembly elections, we won; in the House of Assembly election, we won and in the Governorship election, we won. So, for the PDP, it is clear that they are out of this state. So I believe that everything considered, an observer will tell you that this is the best election ever conducted in any local government anywhere in Nigeria and I am proud of that.

    How do we strengthen local governments to make them deliver on their mandate?

    When I won in 2007, it was under the PDP government and I worked with them for about two years before the end of their tenure. So, it is about conviction. We need to entrench power in the hands of the people, because the problem we are having today, when people say that this democracy is not delivering, look at where it is not delivering, you will find out that it is mostly in those states where elections are massively rigged. In Edo State, people agree that we are delivering, but it is also not a coincidence because we don’t have godfathers, if we don’t work we can’t get the people’s votes. We derive our popularity and strenght from the people.

    What will be the mandate of the local government now that they are in place?

    The challenges in local government are not the same. In Oredo local government for instance, the Chairman said he discovered that cemetery is completely over grown with weeds and people have problem using public cemetery and this is something he is going to pay attention to, and I think it makes a lot of sense.

    There are also issues of environmental sanitation. There are certain things, under the constitution that are within the purview of the local government, for example, markets. It is for local governments to build markets, clean up the market and make sure that they function. They have basic responsibility in the area of sanitation. They have basic challenges in terms of managing the parks. There are specific responsibilities that local governments are supposed to perform, but as a party, this was clear in my address. I said to them, our own secret of survival is simple: work for the people. Now, the needs of our people are still at the basic level.

    They want to have their children in schools. Schools that are beautiful, teachers that are qualified, motivated and ready to teach. They want to have clean water to drink. They want to switch on power in their houses, they need electricity; they want to be able to sleep with that sense of security.

    These are just basic needs which other people call Millennium Development Goals. As a Governor, we still have a role to play in that. Local governments also have their roles to play and we need to complement each other. There are some rural roads that you need to grade, communities that are completely inaccessible, I believe it is the birth-right of every Nigerian to be able to travel in some comfort to his location and travel from his location to the city, and if we are going to deal with rural poverty, and eliminate it, then the starting point is infrastructure. We must build more rural roads, so that our farmers who work so hard, and have good harvest, they should not watch their farm produce rot away because they can’t take them to the market. So, all these are the issues. Of course, we have to take over substantially because a lot of local governments don’t have enough resources to deal with these challenges.

    What is your take on the agitation for full autonomy for local governments?

    Well, it is about definition. In Edo State, we do not control the local governments and, but I agree from the records that under PDP, the local governments were being controlled to some extent in the sense that there is evidence of state government procuring vehicles, procuring tractors for local governments on behalf of local governments at a price that is arguably not competitive. I think a local government should have the right to make a decision whether to procure tractor and whether to get it at a price that is competitive. I don’t think I should be a procurement officer on behalf of local governments. But the evidence exist. However, there is an area in which I believe we are all interfering which is the issues of payment of teachers’ salaries. In Edo State, we insist that the first charge on the allocation to local government should be in favour of the payment of teachers’ salaries. And the reason is that over the years, we have had situation in which sometimes teachers were not paid for months and once the teachers are not paid for a month or two, they will stop teaching and so you find a situation in which only children of the rich who are in private schools are in schools. Those of the poor who are in government schools are at home, because teachers are not paid, therefore, they are on strike. In order to stop this, I think it is a national, more or less a national policy, that when the allocation comes from Abuja, the local governments are compelled to pay their teachers first before any other thing. But when people talk about joint account, I really don’t know what they mean. In Edo State, we don’t have joint account with local governments; what accrues to Edo State government is defined directly by Abuja and is paid directly to State Government Account; that of the local governments is entirely separated. Local government money comes separately, that of the State Government is separated all the way from Abuja. What accrues to each of the local government is also analyzed all the way from Abuja. It is not Edo State that distributes it. We don’t have a different formula. For example, Oredo local government knows from the Federation Account what money is accruing to it. It is clearly stated at the Federation Account. It is not something Edo State Government has discretion over. However, when the Federation Account has allocated what accrues to each of the local governments we now decide to deduct in favour of the Primary School Education Board that sum that is required for the payment of teachers salary. Now, in a truly autonomous local government situation, the Governor has no right to direct the local governments on whether to pay salaries or not.

    What efforts is Edo State making to ensure that Edo citizens are not at the receiving end of the ravaging flood?

    This is one area one can’t be too sure what will happen but I think we know what we are doing and the outcome we expect as a result of what we are doing. In Benin City, even in normal times, it is a city that has been proned to flooding. I remember in 2007, some families lost their babies to flood, right from their bedroom. In parts of Benin City, because the drainages were either blocked or they did not exist at all. At Five Junction, if it rains for five minutes, you can’t pass there. A security man told me how he was almost drowned at Tomline area, after few minutes of rainfall. My current Commissioner for Information, he will share his experience with you, when he was coming from Lagos passing through Ugbowo, on approaching Tomline, it was raining and before he knew it water had entered his car and he could not locate the lever of his gear box; so things were that bad, but we dealt with the issue of flooding in Benin, rather decisively. We carried out what we call Benin City Water Storm master plan under which we are able to identify precisely where we have flooding problem, how to solve it, where to channel the flood water to; and right now, we are prosecuting a N30 billion comprehensive Benin City storm water project. Under this scheme, we are dredging almost fourteen kilometers of a canal, I mean part of it is almost seven meters high by about eight meters wide just enough to convey all the flood water to the river and we have done about fifty percent of that. That has been very helpful, so even last year when the rest of some places experienced flooding that did not occur in Benin because of the impact of the storm water and also the impact of the dredging we have done in the moat clean up to allow the water to flow.

     

  • Youth employment’ll end insecurity, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has identified youth employment as one way of ending the problem of insecurity in the nation.

    Speaking during a visit of the management of the Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC), Oshiomhole said: “Government alone will never be able to provide all the jobs the citizens require.”

    “The challenge facing the nation, more than anything else, is youth unemployment. It is now settled in development literature that the government will never be able to provide all the jobs the citizens require. It is also increasingly appreciated by Nigerians that the best jobs are not in the public sector, whether in terms of pay, compensation, or security of employment.

    “Any responsible government will be delighted to deal with a company like Coca-Cola, considering the reputation that the firm has established over the years.”

    “For us in Edo, your activities here are something that we cherish a lot, and I am happy to learn from you that you are going to dialogue with us on your plans for investment and expansion. I can assure you even before I know the details that whatever it is that you want us to do, including providing land and constructing road, we will do them and provide any other incentive you require.”

    “In my first term, we focused on infrastructure and in my second term, I am determined to focus on what we must do to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state, encouraging businesses to expand and new businesses to locate. I want to thank you for the confidence you have shown in our state.”

    Earlier, the Managing Director of NBC, Ben Langat, commended the governor for the giant strides in infrastructural development.

    “We would like to thank you very much because of your programme, which has enabled businesses to thrive in Edo State. We have seen a lot of things that are happening. The infrastructural upgrade that we see, road expansion, construction and renovation of schools as well as the health sector, are instructive,” he said.

    He also said the company has 592 workers, out of which 200 are Edo indigenes, adding they make up about 10 per cent of its work force.

  • No money missing in SUBEB, says Oshiomhole

    No money missing in SUBEB, says Oshiomhole

    Edo State GovernorAdams Oshiomhole has debunked allegations that money was missing from the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB).

    The governor cleared the air at the swearing in of Washington Osifo as Commissioner for Secondary and Tertiary Education at the Government House in Benin City.

    He said: “There are speculations as to why we made changes. The only thing constant in life, in public service, is change.

    “What matters therefore is to know when to make that change.

    “Let me clear the air that no money is missing. If money is missing we will find it because money doesn’t have legs.

    “It is only in societies where public authority is dead that you talk of money missing.

    “If money is stolen, we will find it. Money doesn’t simply get missing, not in government.

    “The challenge of running an efficient system is not just about money missing or not missing, it is about how money is applied and there are all sorts of procedures that the public service is obliged to follow.

    “In this business, the end does not always justify the means. The means must be appropriate.

    “My reply to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is that its name in this state is synonymous to theft of public recourses and Edo people agree to that.

    “I ask it to explain to Edo people while it was in power for 11 years where the vote which was reflected in its budget went and it needs to show the schools that it built with those funds.

    “I am happy that in this hall, there is no one who cannot point to what this government has done in his or her area.

    “I will appeal to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leaders not to be distracted by those tiny minds.”

    Oshiomhole reassigned the Commissioner for Special Duties, Mrs Blessing Maigida, to the Ministry of Women Affairs.

  • Monarchs confer title on Oshiomhole

    Monarchs confer title on Oshiomhole

    Monarchs in Edo State at the weekend conferred the traditional title of Oshiosimua (Divine Redeemer) on Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

    The Crown Prince and Edaiken of Uselu, Eheneden Erediauwa, who was chairman of the ceremony, said the title showed that “the people appreciated the governor for his achievements.”

    “We must praise Oshiomhole for demonstrating that free and fair elections can hold in Nigeria without violence.

    “He has become a shining torchbearer and flagship of democratic practice in Nigeria, which shows that Nigeria can get to the promise land of democracy.

    The Otaru of Auchi, Haliru Momoh, said the reception was in recognition of the outstanding performance of a son of the soil.

    “We are here today to celebrate a young man who has served his nation. God says you look at the past to determine the future and the present.

    “Now, what was the past of this young man? He was the foremost pioneer of a detribalised Nigerian Labour Congress and was the famous pioneer of the fight to finish of the rights of man.

    “He has delivered this successfully before even thinking about going into politics. Like I said this occasion is grounded in the spirit of Edo State that is why we invited the Crown Prince to be the chairman of this occasion to analyse and itemise the profile of the governor which he has delivered today,” he noted.

    Oshiomhole promised to meet the expectations of the people.

    “Let me thank our monarchs in Edo North for honouring me this afternoon and like the Crown Prince said it is not everyday you find monarchs from various kingdoms and domains coming together to honour their son.

    “By your actions, you have increased my burden because as they say to whom much is given much is expected. Last year, I had the fortune of being recognised and appreciated by the royal fathers from Edo Central, from Esan land when they all agreed to confer on me the Adolor of Esanland.

    “I am humbled and grateful; I am indebted and committed to continue to do my best using my office to deliver joy and happiness and prosperity to our people in Edo State.”

  • Oshiomhole ‘conquers’ Okpekpe

    Oshiomhole ‘conquers’ Okpekpe

    How else can anyone measure development than with this description of a hitherto decrepit, dingy and hilly bush path or should I say village called Okpekpe in 2007 and today?

    Okpekpe was a forgotten hamlet – permit me to use the word- whose occupants stared as visitors meandered their way through the tough hilly terrain to attend the funeral of Lagos businessman the late Beatrice Itemuagbor, mother of Michael Eshilama Itemuagbor.

    First timers closed their eyes. Many cars stopped half way up. Other slid and got stuck. No hyperboles about what happened in 2007. For those cars with smoky exhausts, it was mission impossible.

    Itemuagbor promised to bring people back to Okpepke through good roads. How he would achieve this was difficult to see. Most of his friends, in fact, dismissed his promise as a mere dream.

    Itemuagbor, a trail-blazer, had other ideas. He waited patiently for the window of development, this time coming from a God-fearing governor, who is anxious to reinvent the wheel of a state that had been looted blind by the very administrators who swore to protect it.

    This writer couldn’t fathom how apolitical Itemuagbor wanted to modernise Okpepke. I also didn’t reckon with the fact that manna would fall in Edo State in the form of a reformer governor- Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, after the locust years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At least, not in 2007, when the Comrade Governor was active in labour matters as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    Going to Okpekpe, for me, was like another expedition, irrespective of all that one had read about its new form in the media. Curiously, I insisted on doing a recce of the marathon race tracks. Behold, well tarred road. The scary hill had being dissected into a beautiful windy path, the envy of motor racing faithful.

    Driving through what was a tough terrain on good speed showed how well Oshiomhole had made his mark in the “Heartbeat of the Nation.” I was proud to be an Edo man. I was marvelled at the way the organisers utiliszed the surrounding hills to celebrate their sponsors and longed for the aerial photography of what I saw, for our dear readers to appreciate.

    As the car that I rode in snaked its way through the windy path, we noticed a galaxy of cars. We asked ourselves- could that be the Comrade Governor on inspection? We were right. Oshiomhole didn’t leave anything to chance. He was at the intersection of the marathon race path where an impending bridge was being built. Road construction had stopped there. It was clear that the governor wanted to know why the contractor was stalling.

    This writer joined in the inspection. Close to the Comrade Governor, I asked- Comrade Governor Sir, would you be participating in the marathon race tomorrow?

    Dead silence. I thought the governor didn’t hear my question. He took about 15 steps and said: “yes, I will. That is why I’m here to ensure that things are ready.” The governor continued the inspection with his aides running to macth his fast strides. All was set for the maiden edition of the Okpekpe Race last Saturday.

    D-day came with plenty of expectations. Would Oshiomhole really partake in the race? Or was his promise to run another Public Relations (PR) stunt to attract people to see how Edo is working? Would Oshiomhole keep us waiting like some of his colleagues do?

    Take a bow Adams Oshiomhole. We are proud of you. Oshiomhole arrived at the appointed time. He waited like others. He answered questions from reporters. Watching him, only the lily-livered would ask if he would run.

    The starting point broke into a roar when Oshiomhole exposed his green singlet, registered and set for the Very Important Personalities (VIP) race. Where I was, I could see the visitors from East Africa touch themselves, apparently asking if such a high placed dignitary would run in any marathon race where they come from?

    With the blast of the starter’s gun, Oshiomhole burst out of the pack and ran his race. He tried. He didn’t gnash his teeth like many had expected. He showed that he trained for the race. As he strode through the track, many were waiting for him to stop. That certainly would be the high point of the maiden edition of the Okpekpe race, since pundits had tipped the elite event to be a struggle between the Kenyans and the Ethiopians.

    Three kilometers into the race, one could see that the governor was running with plenty of effort. Of course, he broke into a stroll, which is permissible in the VIP race. Don’t ask me if the Comrade Governor stopped running. I noticed he entered his car only to emerge some metres to the finishing line. Yes, I saw the Comrade Governor cross the finish point, several minutes after the Kenyan had clinched the coveted prize.

    Not one to shy away from confounding his critics, Oshiomhole alleged though jokingly, that he wasn’t listed among those athletes who finished the race. He went further to say that he would sue the organisers to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Oshiomhole surely knows how to hold his audience spellbound.

    Hear him: “I’m surprised that my name is not among the winners or losers yet I took part in the race. I completed the race; didn’t I? Anyway, I will ask my Attorney General to file a suit at CAS prono bono, a legal term for free-of-charge. Anyway, I tried abi? At a point when I was running, I kept telling myself that I needed to be alive to collect the prize or to really give my people good governance by delivering on my electoral promises. So, I stopped when I realised that I couldn’t stress myself any further.” I have answered the question, if the governor finished the race. Oshiomhole surely deserves applause.

    The villagers cheered the runners. But it was at the finish line that most of them raised a poser, which sent the Athletic Federation of Nigeria’s (AFN’s) President Solomon Ogba reeling on the floor.

    Okpekpe people had seen the East Africans (men and women) finish the race strong and energetic. They stood on their feet. Most of them exchanged pleasantries with the people in the demarcated areas.

    But when Nigerians started crossing the finish line, they collapsed into human heaps. Several bottles of water were given to them to pour on their bodies. Many couldn’t stand on their feet. The medical men and women had their busiest time attending to them.

    It was when the ambulances were driving a few of them away that Okpekpe people asked this question. Ogba had no answer. He certainly didn’t know how to communicate his message to them in their dialect for them to fully grasp why Nigerians crumbled and others stood firm.

    However, the lessons from the Okpekpe race are many. Thank goodness Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi witnessed it all. Ogba’s presence too should embolden him to utilise the place to nurture future marathoners for the country. The East Africans marvelled at the terrain. Many of them were wondering why we opted for the 10km race instead of the 12.5km stuff. It won’t be out of place if AFN enters into an arrangement with the Edo government to make Okpekpe the breeding ground for marathoners now that some parts of the North have become theatres of violence.

    Okpekpe race organisers showed Ogba and, indeed, AFN members that if you package a product, sponsors will key into the project, no matter the sport or the location. Sports federations must shop for credible marketers to sell their sport, not board members masquerading as marketers with one objective- to get commission that is almost equal to the cash that they have generated.

    AFN members must roll up their sleeves and cultivate the habit of organising competitions with prize money for athletes. This idea of members drawing allowances only to allow the athletes burn their energy for nothing should stop.

    The event compelled the organisers to rehabilitate the buildings leading to the finishing point of the race for look and feel. The residents made brisk business; they are looking forward to the event yearly.

    Okpepke’s hilly setting will remain etched in the minds of the athletes, officials and other visitors. They took back pictures of the breath-taking scenes, the majesty of nature, back home and long to return.

    The Olympic Games’ unique selling point rests with the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is always tied to a particular city, which never remains the same after the Games.

    The Okpepke 10km Marathon will signpost development in this rustic community.

  • ‘Why Oshiomhole sacked commissioner’

    ‘Why Oshiomhole sacked commissioner’

    Some facts emerged yesterday on why Edo State Commissioner for Secondary and Tertiary Education Ekpenisi Omorotiomwan was sacked two months after his reappointment.

    It was gathered that Omorotiomwan, at a meeting with Governor Adams Oshiomhole, denied knowledge of how some funds kept in an account was spent by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    A source said the governor was peeved that the ex-commissioner refused to accept responsibility even when others involved in spending the money had owned up.

    The source said: “The governor repeatedly asked the commissioner about the money but the commissioner insisted that he was not aware and the governor told him, ‘you are supposed to be my eyes in SUBEB.’ It was after the meeting that the governor fired the commissioner.”

    It is not clear whether the fund was meant for the payment of salaries of some teachers who were sacked six months ago but sources said the governor was surprised that the four months salaries of the recalled teachers could not be paid. The money was said to have been spent on building schools.

    The governor forgave the sacked teachers during the May Day celebration and directed that four months salaries be paid out of the six months they were out of work.

    The SUBEB board, headed by Joseph Emoabino, was also dissolved over the missing fund.

    Ekpehisi said he was happy to have served under Oshiomhole and that he was not aware of the reasons for his removal.

    He said he was not aware of any missing fund in SUBEB which he said was not under his supervision.

    A member of the now dissolved SUBEB said the fund was misappropriated and not missing.

  • Oshiomhole has not time to reply you, governor’s aide tells Metuh

    Oshiomhole has not time to reply you, governor’s aide tells Metuh

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole is busy addressing the needs of the people of the state and delivering on his electoral promises that he cannot reply the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisah Metuh.

    This was the reply of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr. John Mayaki, to Metuh’s criticism of the governor.

    Mayaki was reacting to a statement credited to Metuh that Oshiomhole should reply his allegation that he (governor) begged to join the PDP and was rejected.

    The governor’s aide said the PDP has no such credible personalities in its fold like Oshiomhole, a former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President.

    Mayaki said: “The Comrade Governor is too busy that he can’t join issues with ‘jobless’ Metuh, the PDP National Publicity Secretary. The challenges in the state are enormous; the needs of the people of Edo State are of importance to the governor that he must deliver on his electoral promises than replying Metuh.

    “Assuming, without conceding that the statement credited to the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisah Metuh is anything to go by, it simply implies that the PDP does not believe in credibility, honour and transparency, which Oshiomhole signifies.

    “The Oshiomhole we know is a man of character, a passionate defender of transparency and integrity and a man of honour. Whether the PDP accepts him or not, Oshiomhole is a man of the people anytime, any day. So, it is even to the discredit of the PDP and not the way Metuh thinks he could rubbish the governor.

    “This recent plot against Edo State and the governor, if anything, means that the PDP has run out of tactics in nailing political opponents. I fear that the party may eventually ruin this country, if it succeeds with its hatched plans towards 2015.

    “It happened in Bayelsa State; it’s unfolding in Rivers State. Oshiomhole and Edo State are not exempted; so is Niger State Governor. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is not going to be spared, among others, in this blackmail.

    “For you to know that the PDP has lost out, how can a party’s spokesman say that a man like Oshiomhole begged to be a PDP member? This is not true, because Edo people do not believe that Oshiomhole will ever beg to join the most corrupt and wasteful party in the nation’s history while harvesting PDP members on a daily basis.

    “It is embarrassing that Metuh is the person speaking for a ruling party. Does he think Nigerians are fools? How can an incumbent governor, who won in a landslide election, go begging to join a party that lost to him for a second term? This is illogical to sane minds.”

  • Oshiomhole urges govts to ‘connect’ with rural dwellers

    Oshiomhole urges govts to ‘connect’ with rural dwellers

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has urged governments across the world to connect with the forgotten majority of people in the rural areas to enable them catch up with contemporary challenges of development.

    The governor spoke at the Global Conference on Citizen Engagement for Enhanced Development Impact organised by the World Bank in Washington DC, the United States.

    He noted that the challenges of governance are to strike a critical balance.

    Oshiomhole said: “As the world changes, we need to keep on reflecting on how to make governance work for everybody. We have to recognise that as the world changes, some solutions that worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

    “The forgotten majority determines who governs, but when elections are over, they are generally back to their forgotten rural communities and the few vocal ones get their voices heard. They have a way of manipulating what the state do and what they don’t do. For me, this is the challenge of many developing countries.

    “We have done a lot to bridge this gap by institutionalising dialogue at various levels, reaching out to local representatives and ward leaders as well as encouraging them to give us a feedback on what we are doing in various communities and how it is affecting them.

    “We need to keep on engaging; we need to keep on reflecting on how best to make government work for its citizens. This is because unlike business, you have limited shareholders. Governance is for everybody: the poor, the rich, the literate, the most exposed and others. In a country where the level of poverty is high, it is even more important that we must make conscious effort to connect with the silent majority.

    “From my experience in Edo State, when you do that, you earn greater trust and when you have the trust of the people, you have greater confidence to make radical changes necessary to revive the redistribution of income away from the few who are rich to the majority who are extremely poor” he said.

     

  • Okpekpe Race: Kenya, Ethiopia emerge winners Oshiomhole makes 10kms

    Okpekpe Race: Kenya, Ethiopia emerge winners Oshiomhole makes 10kms

    Moses Masai of Kenya yesterday emerged the overall winner of the median edition of Okpekpe International 10 kilometres road race with a time of 29: 39.

    He carted away the first prize money of 25, 000 dollars as the winner of the first Okpekpe10 km international road race.

    Another Kenya national and Uganda, Yusuf Bitwott and Timothy Troitich came second and third positions with a time of 29.44sec and 29.50 respectively.

    In the women category, Kenya’s Rono Georgina won the women prize money with a time of 33.01.

    The second and third prize money of 20, 000 and 10, 000 dollars went to Ethiopians’ Deko Ahmed and Sofia Shemsu with a time of 34.31m and 36.11m respectively.

    Adams Oshiomole, Edo state governor, completed the 10km race with a time of 59.03 and overall 131st position in the race.

    Due to the inequality in the prize money for the women, the governor increased it by 10, 000 dollars, the second position was also increased by 5, 000 dollars and third position 1, 000 dollars respectively.

    Nigeria’s Ismaila Sadjo from Cross Rivers state returned seventh overall and first Nigerian with 31.06, Adamu Shehu Muazu was the second Nigerian and eight overall with 32.02 while Gideon Goyet returned third with a time of 32.29 for the men category.

    Deborah Pam from Plateau state was the first Nigerian in the female category and fifth overall with the time of 37.34, Janet Dung was the second and returned sixth overall with 38.24, Aminat Olowora came third and eight overall positions with 39.05. m.

    The Comrade governor has promised to make the Okpekpe 10 km international road race an annual event.

    The governor remarked after the first Okpekpe international raid race that attracted athletes from different parts of African continent.

    Oshiomhole said the purpose of Okpekpe road race was to use sport to bring urban life to the rural people.

    According to him, Okpekpe road race has not only united Africans, but has succeeded in connecting the urban people with the rural ones.

    While bemoaning the fortune of Nigeria in sports, the governor challenged the Minister of Youths and Sports, Bolaji Abdulahi who was present at the event to use his leadership as the head of sport to revive the country’s glory in sports.

    In his address, the minister said his office was already into discussion with the Athlete Federation Nigeria to make the event an annual one.

    Commenting on the race, the minister said the people of Okpekpe have been given hope of survival.