Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, Wednesday explained why the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other opposition parties came
together to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), stressing that it
was to enable Nigerians have a robust choice from which to choose in the
governance and development of the country.
Oshiomhole, who spoke when members of the Igbo Community Union (IGU) in
the state, paid him a courtesy call at Government House, Benin City,
said if democracy was not capable of ushering in a change of parties
that could form government at all levels, such democratic structure
should not be worth championing for.
According to him, “the good news is that in our neighbouring countries,
they have shown that it is possible for a government to recognise the
ultimate right of the people to determine who governs them. They have
been able to have different parties at different time, forming the
federal and other levels of government.”
The governor said: “Nigeria cannot continue to play leadership of the
African continent if we don’t get our politics right and it is also the
business of those in the other parties to recognise that when we pool
resources together, it is better to be a small fish in a big pond than
to be a big fish in a small pond in which you cannot even swim. I am
hopeful that all of us will continue to commit ourselves to democracy
and in all, recognise that power without purposes is meaningless.
“We must be politic on the basis of commitment to use political power
and allocate resources in such a way that it is pro-people,
pro-development, pro-employment, and pro-welfare. The statistics that
government rolls out not just for the fun of it are statistics that
actually reflect on the quality of life of the man on the street.”
Oshiomhole disclosed that: “In the state, we try everyday not to
celebrate abstract achievements. When we say we have delivered, it is
something the people can witness.”
On the request of the Igbo community for a reduction in the hours of market sanitation exercise from the current 7a.m. to 12 noon to 7a.m. and 10 a.m. on Mondays, Oshiomhole said: “I am persuaded by your argument that we do not need to shut down the commercial life of the city five hours on Mondays. If you take the environmental sanitation seriously between 7a.m. and 10a.m. and three hours of hard work is enough to clean up the market.
On the request of the Igbo community for a reduction in the hours of market sanitation exercise from the current 7a.m. to 12 noon to 7a.m. and 10 a.m. on Mondays, Oshiomhole said: “I am persuaded by your argument that we do not need to shut down the commercial life of the city five hours on Mondays. If you take the environmental sanitation seriously between 7a.m. and 10a.m. and three hours of hard work is enough to clean up the market.
“The whole idea is not to cripple business it is to make the market
clean enough that even the middle class people will like to go there, if
the place looks dirty the middle class and upper class people who have
the resources will not want to go there. I want to appeal to you to
continue to encourage your members to pay attention to waste management.
As soon as waste is generated ensure that they are properly cleaned
up.”
The governor also approved the request by the Igbo community to appoint
additional 51 persons to the 49 Igbo indigenes in the Edo Youth
Employment Scheme (Edo YES) as a proof that no one was regarded as a
settler or discriminated against in the state.
Earlier, the chairman of IGU in the state, Chief Luke Abass, thanked
the governor for supporting the Igbo community, by giving employment
opportunities to Igbo youths.
He also thanked the governor for sponsoring an Igbo youth, Miss Queen
Onwunaje, to the United Kingdom for a corrective surgery, which, he
said, was successful.
source: ThisDay
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