By Mike Aladenika
The main opposition party in Edo state, the APC, has described the various policies of the Godwin Obaseki government in the state as anti people which should stop forthwith.
The chairman of the party, Col.David Imuse(rtd) while chatting with newsmen in Benin City said "a shortsighted governor who replaced the Children's Hospital with a Supermarket, demolished the State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the complex headquarters of the Edo Library, where children of the masses access free books, for another Supermarket, will do worse.
"This is why we condemn Mr Obaseki's insatiable appetite for Supermarkets because it is against the interest of Edo people. We now have it on good authority that the latest Lagos Street Martket fire incident is just one of the many plans by the Obaseki government to build a new Supermarket on the location.
"As a party, we reject this evil plan, because it is designed to forcefully take over Edo public market spaces intended for the masses and replace them with Obaseki's Supermarkets which cater for only the high and mighty and are bound to fizzle out with time.
"Edo people are better informed and now know for a fact, that it is actually a vital aspect of the Obaseki government's policy to set public markets on fire so that it can convert them into Supermarkets.
Col Imuse said "the pattern of fire incidents and Governor Obaseki's nonchalance over the years speak volume. Is it the fire incidents at the Santana, Oba, Oregbeni, New Benin, Oliha and even Ekiosa markets? For Ekiosa market, it is ironic that after traders suffered losses in Millions of Naira to the inferno, which destroyed their investments in 2020, the governor promised to compensate them with N100million. Till date no single trader has received one Naira.
"In all these markets, Mr Obaseki also set up panels of inquiry to unravel the cause of the fires with deadlines for the submission of reports. He even promised to rebuild the burnt sections of the markets, employ more fire fighters and buy more trucks for the ailing State Fire Service. None of the panel reports saw the light of day, instead Obaseki donated a very large section of the Ekiosa market to his friends and cronies to build and operate a JARA Supermarket. Is this not at the expense of the traders who suffered huge losses?
The APC chairman in Edo state then challenged the level of openness, accountability, and prudency of the Obaseki government as it concern loan taken and other sundry issues.
"The Edo state governor Mr Godwin Obaseki elevated falsehood to one of his government policies when we asked for the details of how his government expended the over N17billion the state received as arrears of the 13% derivation fund. In some states, flyovers have been constructed, new hospitals has been built, while in our state the governor is short of words to explain himself.
"Today, Edo people want Mr Obaseki to account for the loans, running into billions of Naira, which he has used to mortgage the future of our state from the World Bank, the European Union, and other sources such as:
-25bn and 18bn from CBN in 2020 and 2021
-25bn from Capital Market
-20bn (10bn in two tranches) Federal Government bail out fund
- $75m being the third tranch from World Bank Loan.
-10bn refund from Fedreal Government of Nigeria for federal road constructed by his predcessor This is aside of the FGN Budget Support Facility, Excess Crude Account (ECA1) Secured Term Loan, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Development Fund (ECA2).
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