Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has enumerated various gains made from the strong private sector partnership in Edo State since he assumed office in 2016, which have positively impacted the lives of residents of the state.
Obaseki made these known in his lecture at the Distinguished Lecture Series of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), in Lagos on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
He listed the gains in education, infrastructure, security, agriculture, industry and hospitality which account for the success of his administration.
According to Obaseki, the most obvious indicator of the impact his administration has made is the number of investors trooping into the state on a daily basis.
Benin City, the Edo state capital now has at least 12 inbound flights as compared to the two airlines that operated that route before he was elected as governor.
“When we came into office, there were only one, probably two airlines flying into Edo State. Today we have over 12 flights coming into our airports. The State has generally become more attractive to investment with the influx of investors in areas such as real estate, hospitality, oil and gas, industries, technology, agriculture and manufacturing amongst others,” the governor said.
Through his lecture titled: ‘Making Politics work for Citizens, Governance and Development; The Edo State Experience,’ Obaseki, an investment banker by profession, walked the audience through the elements required for politics to impact people’s lives.
According to him, in the education sector, the Edo State Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme has so far transformed the lives of over 400,000 pupils and their parents across the state, with improved learning outcomes.
“There has been a deliberate emphasis on strengthening partnerships with the private sector from which we have reaped immense benefits.We signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ossiomo Power to provide stable power to government institutions and also drive the State’s industrial sector.
“Today, the company generates 55 Megawatts of power out of the 95 which it set out to provide. This close link with the private sector has also led to the establishment of the Edo refinery, a 6,000 barrels per day refinery, which is now complete and several other private projects.
“We have also made wide extensive agricultural development programs particularly the Edo State Oil Palm Program (ESOPP) amongst others, which have opened up the space for large scale commercial farming in the State and therefore creating thousands of jobs and impacting the lives of many farmers,” Obaseki explained.
Obaseki maintained that as the population in the State grows, so has the influx of private investors seeking to maximize opportunities in real estate, hospitality, oil and gas, technology and agriculture, amongst other sectors.
“There is no better illustration of the expanding private sector space in our state than the evidence which is clear. Try and book a flight to Benin today, you will pay a premium for it if you get a seat, try and book a hotel in Benin City today, you will be on a waiting list if you don’t book on time,” he added.
On how the country can learn from his re-election in 2020, Obaseki said: “In the last election of September 19, 2020, our people freely exercised their franchise and elected a leader of their choice. There is a need to scale this political achievement to the entire country.
“If what happened in Edo State can be replicated in the forth-coming Presidential and National Assembly elections, Nigeria would have taken a critical step to democratic consolidation.”
He called for a rethink of the approach to politics in order to make politics and governance work for all Nigerians, adding “it is time to set sentiments aside, our country is aggrieved, it is time to take very tough decisions to rescue our country from the brink.
“We must now adopt proven methods and innovations in retooling our politics and democracy and make them work for the delivery of good governance and development to our good people.”
