From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Edo State’s bottom position in the latest sub-national ease of doing business ranking conducted and published by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), has been blamed on the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
The report which was published earlier this week to coincide with the 5th PEBEC awards, ranked the performance of all the states, including the FCT, in providing a friendly environment for business through six key indicators. The indicators include infrastructure, secure and stable environment, transparency and accessibility of information, regulatory environment, skills and labour and economic opportunity.
Edo State was ranked 37th in the recently published edition, indicating that it posted the worst performance in all the aforementioned areas of all the states in the entire country. SME owners and other critical business stakeholders who contributed to the data used in the report lamented poor infrastructure and other structural challenges limiting smooth operations and scalability in the state.
A Chieftain of the APC in Edo State, Prince John Mayaki, who laid the blame on the door step of the governor, said the report is one of several indictments illustrating the poor managerial skills of the governor and the setbacks recorded in the state since his emergence nearly seven years ago.
“We now have a situation where business owners and investors find greater comfort and structural support in states recovering from war-like situations than they do in Edo State, because of the horrible leadership of Obaseki.
“Under his watch, the state has suffered serious setbacks in the critical areas of infrastructure, capacity building, smart and stable policymaking, and growth-focused regulation. He has taxed small businesses to death in Edo State to fund his frivolous pursuits and maintain the elaborate patronage network he established for self-serving partisan goals.
“The State Assembly, which ought to make independent laws and assure would-be investors of the state’s commitment to the rule of law, was reduced to little more than a congregation of his lap dogs. He denied representation to duly-elected lawmakers considered to be against his partisan agenda and compelled the lopsided assembly to sit and deliberate on issues under his thumb in the State House.
“It is no surprise then that businesses continue to suffer and investors are fleeing the state in drove under such circumstances. High-risk investors who may in fact brave the odds in search of profits are further turned off by Obaseki’s tendency to send in the bulldozers to flatten the homes and establishments of entities who refuse to bow at his feet and kiss the ring.
“When you put all of these together, you will understand why Edo State finished in 37th position in the national ranking, behind states like Borno, Zamfara, and Yobe where their governors, unlike Obaseki, continue to seek creative solutions to their challenges in the face of severe extraneous factors,” Mayaki concluded”, Mayaki said in a statement.