Julie Odigie- Oyegun, an activist, at the weekend said the people of Edo State will continue to give the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki unflinching support for his numerous contributions to the state, irrespective of his disqualification by the All Progressives Congress (APC) screening committee from contesting the party’s governorship primary election.
Speaking on Channels Television Sunrise program monitored by BusinessDay in Benin City, she however, questioned the processes adopted by the party’s screening committee to disqualify the governor.
She opined that performances should be the best predictor for determining whether a person should be reelected rather than mere academic qualifications.
According to her, I think if we are to go by history in terms of performance, and if you look at the slates of people you are qualifying, you ought to be able to look into their antecedents and say what they will likely to do if they are given the opportunity and key to the treasury.
“The governor has been disqualified in a situation where the party could have opted for a consensus decision to let him continue the great work he is doing, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 emergency.
“I would like to know what criteria make for a good governor; there maybe screening for certificates and how a name is spelt. But I think the people on the streets care about if he is going to deliver. If the party is not looking at character, then what are they looking at?
“I think the minority called a group within the APC has divided itself into some form of majority whereas the true majority knows exactly what it want.
“I do not know what criteria matters to APC but what matters to us as Edo people is, can he deliver? Has he delivered? Will he continue to deliver”,she queried.
While reeling out some of the governor’s achievements in the past three and half years, she added that despite the increasing cases of Coronavirus cases and the drop in revenue to the state, the governor has remained resolute to ensuring a better, fulfilling lives for the people of the state.
“He has managed the state in spite of dropping income flow from the federal government and also in terms of Internally Generated Revenue which he had boosted because he controlled the ‘agbero’ politics
“So, revenues that were due to government are actually flowing into government . Now we have got COVID-19, he stopped a lot of taxes from the market women, motorists, among others so that they can survive. In spite of this, all capital projects are still ongoing to completion.
“Kids are going to school not in school premises but at home because there is Edo-BEST program. He brought back hundreds of illegal migrants who were detained and stranded in various parts all over the Mediterranean. More so, he provided jobs for them”,she added.
SOURCE:BUSINESS DAY
