Edo News: You have done very well, Oba tells Oshiomhole

The Oba of Benin, Omo n’Oba Erediauwa says Governor Adams Oshiomhole has “done very well” in his five years as Governor of the state.

The Oba made the commendation yesterday when the Governor paid him a courtesy visit to present his scorecard in the first year of the second term.

The Benin Monarch who was visibly impressed with the scorecard which the governor reeled out to him said he would not relent in prayers for the governor to sustain the good works.

According to the Oba “you have done very well, all that you have done for the state, I can say this openly, I often pray for you to our ancestors to keep you going, and to keep your treasury going. I want to say you should keep the flag flying.

“All the roads you have done and are still doing. I want to thank you very much. There is one road you want to do which is very close to me, Adesogbe, I hear you want to repair it and I thank you for it.”

Speaking earlier, Oshiomhole said government would sustain the pace of work in the three Senatorial Districts.

He said “when I came in for the second term, I did promise that we would continue with the projects we have started and when those are completed then we take on fresh ones. We have completed the Airport Road now and it is a beautiful sight, complete with six lanes with purpose-built bus stops. We are trying to plant palm trees in the median of the road.

“We have also constructed six roads off the Airport road. We have completed the five junction with complete drainage under the ground so we can say the flooding problem in that area we have completely solved it.

“We are on the verge of awarding contract to extend the five junction road. We are reclaiming the moat from Upper Lawani down to Upper Mission and desilted it and that has reduced the problem of flooding in that area”, he said.

Oshiomhole who disclosed that work has reached advanced stages on the Mission and Forestry Roads said once completed, all the major roads in the heart of benin City would have been done and “we would have made the statement that when you stand at the Kings Square to view all the roads bordering it, you would behold a beautiful sight.”

The Governor disclosed that Government is facing huge financial challenges because of the Federal Government arbitrary cut of about twenty to twenty five percent of the state’s allocation.

“We set up a new Ministry to deal with the problem of a new Benin City. Over the period development in Benin City has been done in a manner that is not coordinated. We want to ensure that we create a new city so that those who want to build house don’t need to go through development associations.

“We are also working on geographical information system. This would enable us capture all the houses in Benin City and in major cities across the state. It helps security if there is problem. It is a bit of a challenge but we have made some progress”, he said.

The Governor also said the government was continuing its emphasis on improving the education sector adding that government was going to lay emphasis on technical education to enable the young ones get some skills.

“We have sustained our efforts on the Benin City Water Master Plan. That is the biggest single project we are doing and it is a project of about N30 billion and we have paid over half of that already. We have paid about eighteen billion. Although the project is not yet completed, during the last rainy season we saw some of its benefits. It served as a retention point for flood water.”

The Governor was accompanied on the visit by the Deputy Governor and top official of the All Progressive Congress.