- Faults naira devaluation, says policy pulling more Nigerians into poverty
The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said that the Federal Government lacks the capacity to effectively manage itself and cannot be trusted to fix federal roads in the state, noting that the state government would work with the newly inaugurated local council chairmen to build alternative roads to end the suffering of residents and other users of the federal roads in the state.
Obaseki, while addressing journalists in Benin City, said his government remained committed to advancing development in all communities and improving the livelihoods and welfare of the people of the state.
The governor said, “The Federal Government as you know today lacks the capacity to manage itself not to talk of building these roads. It will take a while for them to be able to build and fix those roads. Fortunately, we have had other connections, so our priority is to design and work with the state and local governments to build alternative state roads. Infrastructure is important and we should be able to move our people, their goods and services across the state to bring development.
“Today, we are in a crisis in our country. What is hurting Edo is the advantage we have in terms of our location of being at the core of the country and therefore being connected with roads owned by the Federal Government. When we build those roads, they will be barricaded and restricted for use.”
Decrying the current economic realities in the country which has continued to impoverish more citizens, Obaseki noted, “As you know today, we are facing very harsh economic times and it’s tough. Every day, the naira gets devalued and more people go into poverty as they can’t feed themselves. As a people and a society, we can’t turn our eyes and abandon our people. We must look for a way to strengthen them and ensure that our citizens don’t go to bed hungry.
“The poorest of the poor and the weakest in the society must not go to bed hungry and must be taken care of as it’s our responsibility as a government. We can’t wait for palliatives but rather create our own palliatives for Edo people; that surely, we will do for them.”
In another development, an Edo-based socio-political group, the Concerned Edo Citizens Forum, has commended Governor Obaseki for ensuring the enabling environment for Edo people to elect their representatives at the local government level during the September 2, 2023 Local Government elections in the state.
In a statement, the group Convener, Roy Oribhabor, said “After critical evaluation of the just concluded Local Government election in Edo State, we humbly appreciate Edo people who came out to perform their civic responsibilities, the turnout was impressive, therefore, Edo people have once again demonstrated their political sophistication and understanding, the election was peaceful where we monitored based from our feedback mechanism.
“We commend the chairman of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission for a job well done despite the late arrival of materials in some polling units. This was not enough to discredit the entire process; hence, we salute the leadership and management accordingly.”
He continued, “We hereby congratulate the winners and also, call on those who think otherwise to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress rather than embarking on a journey of self-help. In Democracy, the majority will always have their way while the minority will have their say.
“Now that the election has come and gone the winners must not see the opportunity for self-serving but to develop and formulate policies that will enhance social well-being of the society. They must work above corruption and greed but show sportsmanship in government and governance.”
