Edo APC, PDP bicker over Obaseki’s scorecard

Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR examines the achievements of Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki in the last three years and why the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are at loggerheads over the scorecard.

 

SINCE he assumed office three years ago, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has always held “Alaghodaro Summit” to mark his anniversary in office, unlike his counterparts who usually used the occasion to commission projects. The Alaghodaro summit is powered by the private sector. Alaghodaro is a Bénin word meaning ‘moving forward’. But to the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Edo Peoples Movement, Obaseki has moved the state backward.

The first Alaghodaro summit was held in 2017 and it focused on attracting investment to the state. Speakers at the event gave prescriptions on how to reposition the state as a growing economy. That was after Obaseki had laid out six thematic areas he hoped to focus on to turn the state around for prosperity. The six areas were Economic Revolution, Culture and Tourism, Environmental Sustainabilty, Welfare Enhancement, Infrastructure Development and Institutional Reform. After the first Alaghodaro Summit, the state government promised to adopt and implement the recommendations to enhance public confidence.

What has really changed in Edo State in the last three years? Obaseki, at the third Alaghodaro summit, said: “Alaghodaro has showcased how we have rolled out and pursue the key thematic pillars upon which we promised our transformation of our state. These pillars ensured the foundational platform to anchor the outcome we seek in the areas of social economy and infrastructure development.”

In the education sector, Obaseki has focused on basic education and technical education. He introduced the Edo-Best and trained over 10,500 primary school teachers in pedagogy. Over 230 primary schools were renovated across the state. Many countries and other states in the country have visited Edo to under study how Edo-Best Programme works. With Edo-Best, teachers seldom absent themselves from classes and pupils are efficiently monitored.

Not satisfied with the way Colleges of Education and College of Agriculture were run, the governor closed down the colleges with a view to remodeling them. He has performed the ground breaking for the construction of a new College of Agriculture.  The law setting up the three Colleges of Education was amended to make one College to have three schools, each specialising in training teachers for different disciplines. The multi-campus College of Education would be in Igueben, Abudu and Afuze.

The Abudu campus will serve as Special Training Centre for teachers at the Basic Education level. The campus at Igueben will focus on training teachers for technical and secondary education while the Afuze campus will train students on technical and vocational studies.

Obaseki said: “We are committed to improving basic education. We have 10,500 teachers trained and restored confidence in public schools. We are moving from schooling to learning. Our emphasis in now on learning.

“What we intend to do differently with these secondary schools is to ensure we have science laboratories and vocational training that will prepare the students to face the future. We are working on changing the mindset that education is not all about certificate.”

In the health sector, Obaseki has opened the new five star hospital built by his predecessor, but being run by a consultant. He introduced the Edo Health Improvement Programme known as EdoHIP. Under EdoHIP, 20 primary health centers were renovated  as a pilot scheme for the renovation of 230 PHC. The renovated PHC has 24 hours power supply, adequate water supply, training of health personnel and the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) tools to capture patients’ data as well as a system to administer drugs and bill patients.

Communities where the 20 PHCs were renovated included Sasaro (Akoko Edo), Ugbekpe-Ekperi (Etsako Central), Okugbe Okpella (Etsako East), Jattu-Uzaire (Etsako West), Iyakhara-Warrake (Owan East), Sobe (Owan West), Ugbegun (Esan Central), Ewoyi (Esan North East), Orhodua (Esan South East), and Ukpenu (Esan West).

Others are Eguare (Igueben), Uwelu (Egor), Ologbo (Ikpoba-Okha), Evbuodia (Oredo), Ugo (Orhionmwon), Oduna (Ovia North East), Ovbiogie (Ovia North East), Ofunmwengbe (Ovia South West), Ugoneki (Uhunmwonde) and Igieduma (Uhunmwonde).

To ensure access to quality healthcare, Obaseki launched the Social Health Insurance Scheme/Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) with N1bn and over 4000 persons has already enrolled into the scheme.

In the area of infrastructural development, Obaseki said he has built over 150 roads covering more than 200 kilometres in urban and rural communities to facilitate easy movement of goods and people. He said the five megawatts from Ossiomo power project would provide 24 hours power supply for street lights and government facilities. He said he has almost completed the construction of the block C and D civil service secretariat that was first built 40 years ago.

Speaking on his proposed 200,000 jobs in the first four years, Obaseki said he has created over 156,000 jobs through the Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs). He said 46,576 jobs were created through job tracking; 3,434 via job matching and placement; and 22,872 from the skills development and entrepreneurship programmes.

“There are 27,732 beneficiaries under Edo Innovates; 1,376 at the Edo Food and Agriculture Cluster; 161 through the Edo Production Center; 10,000 beneficiaries through the Ministry of Wealth Creation; 12,413 in the National Social Investment Programme; as well as 32,430 beneficiaries engaged through indirect jobs. This brought the total jobs created by the Edo State Government to 156,994.”

Obaseki said he has improved ease of doing business with the sacking of Community Development Association and launching of a campaign through the  EDOGIS to issue C.of O in 90 days at a minimum cost of N50,000.

In the past three years, the governor said he has increased revenue of the local councils by over 500 percent by introducing e-ticketing and sacking of private revenue contractors. He said a rich council like Oredo that could barely raise N5m monthly as at 2016 now earn over N80m monthly. The increased in revenue, according to Obaseki, has seen salary arrears of council workers now being paid and local government pensioners now happy.

He added: “The objectives of my administration is to lay a clear vision for Edo State, restore accountability through effective governance process, ensure fiscal responsibility and judicious use of public resources, priorities the provision of public services while creating an enabling environment for private investment to thrive.’

“We make the business government more profitable and less prone to less hazard of disjointed measure. We have established credibility and promote reliability in the flow of services and comercial transactions. This is the basic minimum expectation that we have set for ourselves so that we can built on our fundamental reforms which we embarked upon to transform Edo into a predominantly private sector economy capable of creating jobs improving on quality of lives and improving security.

“Next year is an election year in Edo State. Despite the anxieties associated with the forthcoming elections, I want to assure you, our partners and other would-be investors, that because of the foundational and fundamental reforms, which we have undertaken that are very popular with our people, the chances of continuity of these policies and programmes are very high. We therefore encourage you to continue with your various investment programs.

“In the last three years, we have been guided and governed by certain key values and tenets such as accountability, transparency, and probity in the conduct of state matters. This may not have gone well with few actors in our society. Today we can boldly tell you that when we came to office, the total revenues by all local governments in the state was N31 million monthly, but as at October 2019, we stood at a monthly revenue of N205 million.  We are not there yet because there is still room for improvements. We will continue to grow.

Giving its verdict on the Obaseki administration, the PDP said it was not impressed, adding that there is nothing to celebrate in the state for the past three years under Obaseki.

The Edo PDP chairman, Chief Dan Orbih said the money spent on what he termed annual jamboree to invite friends should be used to tackle problems and provide infrastructure for the people.

Orbih said the 200,000 jobs promised by Obaseki was yet to be fulfilled, adding that the crisis rocking the Edo APC was distracting Obaseki and urged him to focus on governance instead of tackling the crisis.

Orbih added: “It is obvious that the APC has nothing to offer to the people of Edo State. As at today, Edo State is the only state where only a few elected members of the state assembly are sitting.

“More so, the governor has not delivered on the 200,000 jobs he promised youths in Edo State. Our roads are begging for attention. There is worsening insecurity, in spite of the huge amount of security vote he withdraws monthly.

“He should, henceforth, commence the support of security agencies in the state for efficiency and if he cannot, he should stop withdrawing or collecting security votes.

“The APC promised better days for Edo State and more than 11 years after the people have nothing to show for the promise. Edo people should remain resolute and committed in effecting a change in government come 2020. We will send the APC packing out of Osadeb Avenue. We are tired of unfulfilled promises, we are tired of MOUs and it is time to rise for the people.”