Peter Igbinigie Esq
Prince Peter Enoseregbe Uwadiae Igbinigie Esq is a Benin based lawyer, and the Publicity Secretary of the main opposition political Party: the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State. In assessment of the impacts of the Governor Godwin Obaseki led People Democratic Party (PDP) in the State since assumption of power over a year ago, he concludes that it has mortgaged the life of Edo people unto generation unborn. He was vintage as ever in this interview on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 with our Edo Bureau Chief: Kingsley Abavo in the State Capital.
Assessment of impacts of Obaseki led PDP administration in Edo
Prior to the election of Obaseki for the second term, the PDP presented a manifestoes that was suggestive of the fact that the Government was going to build on the legacies of past administrations; that it was going to re-engineer, re-invigorate and re- structure the political wheel of Edo but one year down the road, what we have experienced in Edo is a complete reversal of the said manifestos.
The present day Edo State is witnessing the worst administration in this fourth republic. I will give you the analysis, first; the legacy projects that were built by the Lucky Igbinedion’s administration till Obaseki came on board; many of them have been destroyed and rendered disfunctional and comatose.
The State library at Sapele road was a legacy project; it is only a Government that is insensitive to the people’s educational pursuit that can sacrifice such an edifice for an economic enterprise. I do not think Edo people would realize the negative impact of the destruction until few years to come when we begin to see the importance of giving our children the best education. That place was a hub for a lot of persons who have the quest for educational pursuit. I know a lot of persons who were coming even from outside the State to utilize that facility for the improvement of their educational standing. But today; that edifice is no more; it is saddening, very retrogressive a policy of Government and negative impact drive to had destroyed that place.
Secondly, few months ago; the unrepentant commissioner for Information; Barr. Andrew Emwanta when he was confronted with the news of the Government intent to demolish the Central Hospital, he told the world that the APC as a party was on the frolic of misinforming the people and what the Government is doing, was to relocate the Hospital to give it a befitting structure that would be second to none in West Africa. But today, the Hospital has been brought down and we have the reliable information that the place has been mortgaged by the State Government to be a commercial entity.
This is very disheartening and unexpected of a Government that said it wants to give the people the best health infrastructure ever.
We have been privileged to read the Budget of 2022 which was passed into law by a disfunctional State House of Assembly. From the first letter to the last; there is nowhere the Central Hospital was captured for rebuilding, reconstruction or whatever nomeclature chosen to be used; because the budget is the reference point of what the Government want to do for the year. The best thing for Government to do if it thinks it was obsolete, was to refurbish the place instead of converting it to a central park. I dare ask; what has a motor park got to do with our health sector? It all shows that this Government does not even set its priority right.
A Government that boasted it wants to develop the health sector of Edo to become a modern one, why now demolish an existing Hospital for a central park? What is happening is an indication that the Government is one without direction, one that has nothing to offer the people of the State and have come to destroy the legacy projects inherited from past administrations.
Also, we are not unaware of the sales of Edo line stations outside the State: Bayelsa, Port-harcourt, and Abuja by the State Government. Where is the money realized from the sales? Nowhere it was captured in our budget that these stations have been sold and what the money realized was used for. Expectedly, proceed from such sales should be chanelIed into betterment of the life of our people through investment in the viable sector of the State economy. We have been mortgaged in this State, this is the worst administration ever experienced since the State was carved out of the old Bendel State.
And I will say this for the record; that APC as a Party is very concerned; apart from destroying the legacy projects inherited, the Local Government Councils are no longer there, I have also been privileged to look at the budget for 2022, also there is no where money is set aside for the conduct of the Local Government Councils election and it therefore means, that the Government is not going to conduct the Councils’ election this year: 2022. This means, for two good years, Edo State will be without democratically elected local Government Councils and according to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, there is no vacuum in governance; there should be smooth transition from one Government to another. Edo is the only State in the federation now where there is no functional local Government and it is disheartening, it is worrisome to our people and very archaic to our democratic practices.
What about the House of Assembly; I said earlier that our Governor is not a politician. What is happening in the issue of the 14 members of the House of Assembly who have not been sworn – in, is a political problem. And in tackling a political problem, you don’t seek for a legal interpretation; a political problem demands a political solution. If he were a politician, he ought to had known that going to court should not have arisen when there are political issues.
Surprisingly, when this whole issue started, the 24 members elect were all in this political party and it was entirely a one party problem hence internal mechanism of the party would have resolved the crisis and because of the aggrandizement of the Governor; he felt that if the marginalized 14 members had come in, they would have removed him from office and it has now snowballed into a more complex problem for the State that today we are waiting for the Courts to interpret how this quagmire would be resolved; it should not be, because it is a political problem.
But today, Edo is the only State we don’t have a functional legislature. It therefore takes us to the realm of a dictatorship because there is no House of Assembly to challenge the workings of the Executive, moreso, he has muzzled the Judiciary; I don’t want to talk about that now.
It therefore means the Governor represents not only the Executive.
The legislature now is situated in Government House as we were made to understand that the House of Assembly complex at King’s Square was going to be renovated.
We found that the brain behind the destruction; which of course was self inflicted by the Governor to ensure he muzzled the legislators to his whims and Caprice; so that he could dictate to them what he wants them do and that is exactly what is playing out today in the State.
So, I want to say that we: Edo people are very unfortunate that we now have a Governor who is insensitive to the plight of the people.
How can a Government that said it was coming to improve the life of the people rather it has made life miserable for them? The market Women are crying over multiple taxation and today the IGR of the State has grown tremendously; where is all the money collected being used? If you do a comparison of Edo with other States in term of infrastructural development, you will find that we are 50 years back; no State is being poorly managed like Obaseki hence we are saying that this Government has not come to improve on the quality of life of Edo people and we know that the average man: all the suffering they go through today are the creation of Government.
Fews days ago, I listened to the Commissioner for Communication, Ewmanta saying that the rate of insecurity in the State has been brought to the barest minimum and I was surprised. Abumere community recently was sacked by herders and apart from that we hear of people being killed left, right and centre not to talk about the rampant insecurity on the Auchi road anymore. Are all these not insecurity challenge to the State?
In the prevailing situation, from reliable sources; Edo State Government receives not less than N750m monthly as security votes and I dare ask how is the Obaseki administration utilizing this money?
I see people who called themselves vigilante who are not trained. We hear of killings by these group of people who were supposed to be protecting the people; but because they are not trained, they have become anti – people; killing innocent persons on the slightest of provocation which should not be.
We see daily, unending traffic gridlock on the roads of Benin-City because the traffic lights installed during the administration of comrade Oshiomhole have all packed up. We challenge the Government to tell us what the IGR of the State is being used for. In Lucky Igbinedion’s administration, IGR was about N250m and we could still see what the money was being spent on. While in Oshiomhole’s era, we saw virgin roads been constructed everywhere, street lights were working, the State was booming. Whereas today in-spite the IGR of the State has increased geometrically, we still can’t see the positive impact on our people. All the money realized is going into private pockets yet the Government boast it is improving the people’s lives.
When the Governor threatened he was going to probe the building of the Edo Specialist Hospital, it was discovered that he was a key player not even as the Governor then, as to how the money for the project was spent.
I had thought that having been part of that Governhad taken off from where Oshiomhole stopped and improve on the infrastructure inherited but the reverse is the case; he is destroying them and not building new ones.
I want to say that we as a party, we are very concerned, we are worried because this is a democratically elected Government. If you are democratically elected, it is expected that you are responsible to the people. Their yearnings should determine the Government’s priority and areas of concentration.
But what do we get in the Obaseki’s administration? Misplaced priorities!
For example; EDOBEST, visit schools in Edo, you find that there are no teachers; in some schools, only the principal, or headmaster and probably one teacher. In a school where there are over 400 pupils, not up to 10 teachers are engaged. The Government said it was giving them iPads; equipment that cannot be put to use where network is unavailable: is this setting priority right? Instead of buying laptops for teachers in the Villages where there is no network, we thought that it would have been more profitable for the Government to had employed teachers to physically interface with the children to impact into them the knowledge. I schooled in the village, there were no laptops; qualified teachers would come teach, give good books to read but today, there are no books anymore, no teachers; yet, the Governor boast EDOBEST; where is’t? When you go to neighbouring Ondo State, what you see is completely different from what is obtained in Edo.
In all of these; the Governor and his co – travellers make the people feel there is much he has done for them. Comparative analysis of the State with others indicates that it has been buried; we have been mortgaged, there is borrowing left, right and centre, without accountability, money borrowed, we don’t see where it is utilized, we don’t borrow money just for the sake of it. When money is borrowed, it should be chanelIed to a particular project. There is no money borrowed tied to any project the Edo State Government is doing.
Ok Sir, at this point, Edo people are of the feeling; the opposition play a key role in a democracy in putting pressure on whoever is in Government to deliver appropriately the desired dividends to the people. But seemingly, the opposition in Edo: APC is failing here so what is your party intending to do beyond mere talking?
When you say the opposition is not doing enough in Edo, that is not right because, one; there is mere talking as an opposition party while what is most important is constructive criticism. When you want to criticize a Government or anyone who is there, you must be equipped with the facts. What the Obaseki’s administration is doing, are all been documented by the opposition and what we intend to do is that at the appropriate time when we will have done a very critical examination of the ills of Government, then we will let the world know. We are trying to be very constructive in our criticisms hence we don’t just talk for its sake.
For example, all what we have said; the evidences are available. If you go to Sapele road, the destruction of the State library by the Government is not hidden, the destruction of the Central Hospital; travel to Port-harcourt, where Edo line was situated; the land belongs to Edo State but it had been sold, go to Bayelsa and Abuja the story is the same. These are facts. So, you do not expect us to just talk because we want to talk; people will now see us as not critical enough.
But we are more intelligent than the Government and we want to make this show in our criticisms to making it do that which is right.
Visit schools especially in the rural areas of Edo; what you will find, is a complete right off.
When Oshiomhole was there as Governor, you find the red roof revolution across the State; no matter how remote the school is located; you see teachers, chairs and tables. Unfortunately, most of these teachers Oshiomhole employed have voluntarily left the service because the incentives are no longer there. We heard that teachers were going to be promoted in Edo; how many of them? Non existent teachers!
So, this is what we are talking about; we don’t just talk all the time for fun of it, this is certainly not the approach.
Many persons had expected the opposition as the only organ that could had stopped the Government from carrying out some of the destruction you mentioned; by going to Court but this was not to be too.
Let me tell you this, going to Court to stop an action, is only when it has not been done; I am a lawyer, so let’s talk authoritatively here now; if I hear you are going to destroy a structure, we will do our investigation and if we find that the destruction will actually be done, to stop the planned action, first of all, we approach the Court to seek an interim injunction restraining the action from being carried out and consequently get an interlocutory injunction as the proceedings progress. But what you find in Edo, most of these sales are done nocturnally and discreetly. The actions are carried out first before the entire world will get to know and this is very chronic of this Government.
We find as a fact that before the destruction of the State library, nobody apart from the Governor and his co – travellers knew; that library was going to be sold. As at the time the opposition got to know, the act had been concluded.
The Central Hospital as today, what we have as a Party is that it has been sold to become a Central Park to a private enterprise. But before the sale, APC as opposition Party was not aware, same for the Edo Line in Port-harcourt, Bayelsa and Abuja.
Though I cannot at this fora unravel all we plan to do as a Party. However, through our internal mechanism, we are compiling the activities of the Obaseki’s administration and when done, the next line of action will be taken. Please I beg to stop here but I can assure that we are working to ensure Edo people have the best of opposition.
In summary, APC as a Party in Edo is completely dissatisfied with the happenings here; and we cannot fold our hands and see our State being mortgaged or taken back to the era of underdevelopment, we know that the Government of Oshiomhole has set Edo right and we expected that there will be improvement on that foundation Oshiomhole has laid; but the reverse is the case today and as an opposition Party, we are working round the clock to ensure that all the ills of this Government are made known to the entire world.
The ones that we can as a Party tackle, we will tackle head – on and make the world know that this administration has not only failed, but it is akin to a dictatorship.
It is a Government that does not have the intellectual capacity to effectively lead the State, it is a Government that has taken us back, it is a Government that does not respect the rule of law, it is a Government that does not respect the yearnings and aspirations of those who brought them on board, Governor Obaseki and his co – travellers has completely mortgaged our people, mortgaged our lives, the life of Edo persons yet unborn, and that we cannot take as a Party and I can assure you; that in no distant time; you will see us taking a definite stand.
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