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From Fred Itua, Abuja
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the gubernatorial election scheduled for September 19 in Edo State, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has promised to complete projects started or abandoned by his predecessors, including those initiated by the governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Addressing media stakeholders in Abuja, Ize-Iyamu who is a former Secretary to Edo State Government, decried the increasing insecurity in the State, lamenting the inability of Obaseki-led administration to tackle it.
He said as governor, Obaseki has failed in many areas. He listed education, unemployment, insecurity and lack of attraction of investments to the state, among others, as the governor’s failings.
He dismissed claims that he siphoned N700 million sent to Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015. He said the said funds were distributed among leaders of the PDP in the 18 local government areas of the State by late Tony Anenih.
He said: “My simple agenda is a realistic road map that can move our state forward. There can’t be any meaningful development without security. The President has done well, but state governments must do their part. The insecurity in our state is so high. The excuse that security is in the hands of the Federal Government is not a good one. If that was so, how can we justify the huge security votes governors get every month. There is no encouragement for security agencies. Farmers can’t to to the farm. We can’t ply our state and federal highways.
“In many local governments, electrification is still a problem. We need to invest in infrastructure if our state must be attractive. When they say Edo is not Lagos, I wonder what they mean by that. But Lagos is a model and it is more developed than Edo. We don’t want our state to be backward.
“The current governor has not done well in the education sector. The last time Edo state government employed teachers was between 2003-2007 when I was in government. Oshiomhole’s government recruited about 2,000 teachers, but toward the end of the government. Obaseki was supposed to absorb them. But that didn’t happen. In the last four years of Obaseki, no single teacher has been employed.
“Oshiomhole, when he was governor, was giving the State owned University, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma about N270 million as subvention. Obaseki came and reduced it to only N90 million. The management of the school now borrows to pay salaries of staff.
“When I become governor, I won’t stop the projects started by Obaseki. I will continue with the projects started by my predecessors.
“What we have seen in the last four years has a clear disdain for our people. Instead, they go to China to sign deals. Businesses our people can do are being given to outsiders. Ordinary jobs our people can do are being given to people from Lagos.
“There was an event in Benin and the people who handled the cooking were brought from Lagos. They brought the food from Lagos and were using microwaves to warm the food for people. Obaseki did that.
“How can the governor spend N6 billion to renovate an existing stadium without any added capacity? How is that even possible? That can build mini stadia in all the 18 local government areas of the state.
“How do you justify seven members sitting and you’re shutting out 17 members? How do you justify that? By our laws, you need a minimum of 24 members to constitute a State Assembly and eight to form a quorum. But the governor is using only seven to run his government.
“The government removed the roof of the State House of Assembly because he wants to rebuild the place. He’s doing that during the rainy season. After removing the roof, his thugs came and stole all air conditioners.
“Our people are excited. They want to see us come in and transform the state. I was unfortunate to go to the PDP. I went there and I was made a coordinator for President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection. They brought money and asked me to sign off for it. The money didn’t come to my house. They took the money to late Chief Tony Anenih’s house.
“The PDP chairmen of the 18 local governments signed off and left with the money. The money wasn’t enough. Anenih had to add his own money.
“After the election, the EFCC said I should refund the money I signed off for. Anenih wrote to confirm that they got the money. When people say that I stole money, I asked them what I stole. I have never been indicted even after serving in government.
“I can’t fight Oshiomhole. I was distracted by what Oshiomhole was saying. I kept defending myself and before I could say anything, election was over and lost. I can’t make that mistake again. I will keep talking about my SIMPLE AGENDA.
“For me, a man who wants to serve can’t be desperate to get into office. I want to serve. That’s my intention. We know the circumstances under which our last election result was handled. We didn’t fight. If I loose the election, the worst is for me to go to court. We Will not resort to violence.
“There are worries. They’re destroying my billboards. I have reported to the police and the DSS. Nothing happened. What I find more worrisome is the violence they sponsor and try to put on our doorstep. Unfortunately, our security agencies are unwilling to place the blame rightly.
“The party scrutinised the credentials of candidates. The APC insisted that my running mate was well scrutinised. What they’re claiming on social media isn’t true. They’re spending money to ensure that we are disqualified because they can see the handwriting. There’s nothing in the cases they’re filing to warrant any fears.
“They call me a fake pastor because they don’t want me to be in politics. We must encourage decent people to participate in politics. My calling is intact. I’m a senior pastor and I still preach.”
