It Is Sin Against God, If I Fail To Contest Edo Governorship Position – Obaseki
Chairman of the Edo State Economic and Strategy Team, Godwin Obaseki has threw the hat into the ring for the September governorship contest in the state, saying that he would be committing a sin against God and people if he failed to come out and serve the people.
Obaseki, who is eying the governorship seat on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) after the strong man, Adams Oshiomhole must have served out his tow-term towards the end of this year, is said to have the backing of governor Oshiomhole.
The aspirant who spoke today, Friday when he formally declared his intention to contest the election declared: “It will be a sin against God and my people if I walk away from Edo State with the knowledge and experience that I have gathered. It will be unpatriotic not to stand and be counted. Over the last thirty years, I have had successful experience in the private sector and over the last seven years I have been part of the most successful administration in Nigeria.
“As this administration comes to an end, we are faced with new challenges. As you all know the price of crude oil has reduced significantly, therefore Nigeria is not able to earn enough foreign exchange to import its goods and services. This has brought economic hardship to many of us. These challenges pose new threats to us. In the face of these challenges, we need a leadership with fresh and original ideas to help us face these challenges, so that we can build on the success of the Oshiomhole led administration.
“We must be courageous and determined to achieve the goals we want for our people. I therefore stand before you today, on the shoulders of the successes built by the current administration over the last seven and half years. We have transformed Edo State in all aspects. However, the Edo project is still work in progress and we are now in the most delicate part of the journey. We cannot afford any reversal in the achievements we have made today.
“There are a lot more we still need to do. We still have to construct thousands of kilometres of road into our rural communities and into farms. We still need to improve our school infrastructure. We need to further strengthen our service delivery to our people, we need to address the unemployment problem which is facing us. It will be a huge risk for all of us if we reverse political powers to those who lack the deep understanding of how we got to where we are and how we have achieved what we have achieved and how we will make the link between what we have achieved and our future.
“If we make the mistake of giving power to such people we will go back and suffer more than we have ever suffered before. By the grace of God that will never happen in Edo state. I am very proud and happy that I have been an integral part of the success we have achieved in Edo state. The knowledge I have gained in the last seven and half years have put me in a unique position to understand what is required to take Edo to the next level.
“I believe that I can fly Edo higher. What Edo state needs today is a leader who in addition to political sagacity has the managerial, and intellectual experience to manage the state in this difficult time. Over the last sixteen weeks, I have consulted extensively with elder statesmen across the state, with my colleagues in government, with my family and friends and with delegates around the 192 wards of Edo state, I stand before you today with the commitment to ensuring that what we have achieved is not only sustained but so that we can guarantee the future of our children.
“So that we can provide empowerment for our women, our pensioners, civil servants, markets women, our artisans with deeper involvement with our traditional institutions. I therefore announce to you all that I am seeking the ticket of the APC so that I can fly the flag of APC come September 10, 2016. I pledge to build Edo state that has a strong economy, I will continue to build the infrastructural revolution that we have started.”
The aspirant had earlier announced the state Commissioner for Works and Oshiomhole’s political son, Engr. Osarodion Ogie, as his Campaign Director.
Shortly after, Ogie endorsed Obaseki on behalf of members of the Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s political family, saying that they will not embark on any hate campaign because “we have a good product. You cannot build your house and abandon it for a tenant to take over. People are shouting continuity, continuity, what are you going to continue, it is Oshiomhole’s work.
“Who is the best person to do the work, Obaseki. The game just started, we will not abuse anybody but anybody that abuses us, we will reply. I speak for Oshiomhole political family, we have endorsed Obaseki and the game has just begun,” he declared.
As if the endorsement plan had been pre-arranged, Barrister Ogie’s comments opened the floodgate of other endorsements.
The Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Folly Ogedengbe followed, endorsing Obaseki on behalf of the Edo North people, just as former Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Lucky Imasuen endorsed Obaseki on behalf of Edo South, while the Deputy Speaker of the House Justin Okonobo endorsed him on behalf of the people of Edo Central.
The endorsement of the APC lawmakers in the State House of Assembly was done by Chris Okaeben, representing Oredo. [myad]
The Federal Government, The Governors And The Bailouts, By Doyin Okupe
They came severally with caps in hand and have received assistance sought twice.
It will be recalled that it was state governors and their governments that forced the hand of the former President to share and more or less plundered the savings in the Excess Crude Account.
It is becoming clearer and more certain daily that unless a miracle happens many states will be unable to meet up with their financial obligations and may actually face imminent bankruptcy if the economic situation in the country worsens.
From time immemorial the economies of nations all over the world do go into recessions and more often not necessarily as a result of incompetence or lack of managerial capabilities of the administration that is in situation.
What is different in our situation, especially as it concerns the state governments is that the federal government appears to be dealing with the situation from the point of Compassion. Economic situations are better approached from point of strategic policy options and fiscal management techniques rather than a ‘father Xmas’ disposition.
Firstly, virtually ALL state governments in the country have an over bloated civil service. At some point between 2008 and 2009, Ogun state received N2b monthly from the federation account and paid out N1.8b as staff salaries, wages and overhead costs!!!! The total staff strength was about 50,000 while the population was about 5,000,000.
An obvious socio economic absurdity and incongruity therefore existed where 10% of the population was consuming 90% of the wealth of the state. We don’t need a sooth sayer or economic guru to foretell that this is unsustainable. In many States the percentage of the resources of the state that is consumed by the civil service ranges between 70% to 80% by not more than 10% of its population.
A basic economic dictum says ” if expenditure cannot be controlled then internal demands must be curtailed”
Without doubt therefore, all state governments must immediately start the process of down sizing with reasonable cushions for those who will be affected.
An immediate 20-30% cut down in staff strength is imperative, with provision of say, upfront payment of 3 years salaries for affected members of staff. If this is what the federal government will give as loans or bail outs to the States to be repaid over 10 years, it will make a better a economic sense than what has been done to date. This action will ensure that the states do not keep coming back as a recurring decimal.
This exercise of down sizing should be continued at an annual rate of about 10% for about 5 years. This will also create space for a controlled employment of new youthful and better trained civil servants.
All elected politicians want to build roads and improve infrastructural facilities in their states. The voters also judge performance by level of infrastructural improvement embarked upon by elected public officers.
In this period of economic downturn therefore we cannot expect that governors will be satisfied with just paying salaries. This is why many governors will rather award contracts for roads, bridges, schools etc and owe salaries for several months.
In considerations of this therefore it is necessary that the federal government creates a National Infrastructural Fund, to be managed by national and international experts. Both States and federal government can approach such agency for developmental funding at single digit interest rates.
Federal government may deploy money from the pension funds, as already suggested by the Hon minister for Works Babatunde Fashola. Multi lateral agencies can also be mobilized to commit to such funds especially if the federal government backs such requests with sovereign guarantees.
Finally the situation where a sitting state governor can commit the state to any volume of indebtedness, depending on his own financial satiety or avarice must be stopped forthwith.
It is not enough that the state assemblies must approve such loans, since in practice we know for a fact that 99% of all state assemblies are mere rubber stamps of the state governors. It is about time that the citizens who are not involved in the loan process, but who eventually are forced to endure the strangulating effects of the debt over burden,after the governors and legislators have left, are allowed to have a say in the process of loan approval.
The only way citizens can effectively participate in this and similar matters which directly affect their lives and well being, is through a REFERENDUM. An amendment to our constitution to allow citizens participation in such crucial affairs of state, at stste and national levels, is long overdue. [myad]