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Tag: Godwin Obaseki

  • Gov. Obaseki inaugurates Technical Committee on Privatisation

    Gov. Obaseki inaugurates Technical Committee on Privatisation

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Tuesday inaugurated a 10-man Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC) to play advisory role in transactions the state government intends to undertake.

    Inaugurating the committee in Benin, the governor said the state government needed to align its policies with that of the private sector as it focused on economic growth.

    “We have taken several trips and steps to attract investments to the state; we have to stimulate transactions in agriculture sector, infrastructure, ports, industrial estate, and innovation hubs and so on.

    “So, the TCPC will play a participatory and advisory role in the transactions we intend to privatise and commercialise,’’ the governor said.

    According to him, the committee’s terms of reference includes taking inventory of all non-operational state-owned enterprises and companies which will entail site visit.

    “You are to recommend possible restructuring model through commercialisation, privatisation and partnerships.

    “The committee shall conduct due diligence on the Uromi Cassava Factory; take steps to ensure the selection of capable investors for the update of the factory.

    “The committee shall appoint the Public Private Partnership office as a standing and ad-hoc committee to facilitate the performance of its function,’’ the governor said.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Philip Shaibu, thanked the governor for the opportunity given them to support the economic agenda of the administration.

    Shaibu, represented by Mr Emmanuel Usoh, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Cooperatives and Employment who is also a member of the committee, assured that they would justify the confidence reposed in them.

    “We will bring to bear our professional experiences in the discharge of our duties to meet the demands of the governor and in line with the law.

    “We will be transparent in all our duties and we pledge to do our assignment with all wisdom and diligence,’’ he said.

     

  • Gov. Obaseki launches NDE programme for 4,000 Edo youths

    Gov. Obaseki launches NDE programme for 4,000 Edo youths

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has launched the training programme of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for 4,000 out of the 76,400 youths to be trained across the country.

    Performing the event at Imaguero College in Benin on Tuesday, the governor said the programme was in line with the vision of his administration to create 200,000 jobs in his first term in office.

    The governor said the NDE training was among the several that his administration would embark upon to engage, train and empower the youth.

    He said the 4,000 selected for the programme were picked from the Edo jobs database, created by his administration, urging youths who were yet to upload their information into the database, to do so.

    He said more jobs would be created in the next two years when the Gelegele sea port, industrial park and other huge projects of his administration got under way.

    The governor said “the training and empowering of the Libya returnees will help the state in winning the war against trafficking”.

    Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, commended the Godwin Obaseki-led administration for its achievements, saying his developmental strides were visible”.

    Ngige, who was represented by the Director General of NDE, Dr Nasir Mohammed Ladan, said “for the move to create 200,000 jobs for the people of the state, we assure you that we are in this together; we will help our self to move the state and nation forward”.

    Earlier, the Director-General of NDE, represented by Director, Special Public Works, NDE ,Mrs. Henrietta Achigbu, said the programme would involve training which would be approached in three ways.

    “The programme will involve two weeks adaptive field training in crops/livestock with the community which have comparative advantages.

    “Trainee farmers’ mentorship and linkages with development and money deposit banks and off-takers will be identified within the locality, to reduce the risk of produce glut in the market,” the director said.

     

  • Obaseki issues stern warning to political appointees in Edo

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has issued stern warning to political appointees in the state.

    He said newly appointed Special Assistants (SAs) and Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) in Edo may be relieved of their appointments if found guilty of acts of corruption, abandonment of duty posts, failure to submit reports as at when required, sabotage, and general incompetence.

    Governor Obaseki reading out the riot act, admonished the aides to regard their appointments as opportunities to impact positively in their communities, while also acquainting them on their roles in the transformation drive of his administration.

    This was at a two-day workshop organized for recently appointed aides in Benin to brief them on the details of their appointments and their functions in the development agenda of the Godwin Obaseki-led administration.

    Tasking them to live up to the confidence reposed in them, he said: “The whole idea was to address the issues of marginalization and inequality, and with what we have done today, there is no ward in Edo State that can say that they do not have a voice in government”.

    “Let me emphasise that while Government will do everything possible to provide an enabling environment that will enhance efficiency and productivity, this administration will not hesitate to relieve anyone whose performance is below expectation in their duties,” he added.

    He said that his administration was keen on revolutionising six key sectors in the state, including strengthening of institutions, economic revolution, culture and tourism, environmental sustainability, social welfare enhancement and infrastructure, adding that the political appointees needed to key into the quest.

    Governor Obaseki also said that his administration had resolved to adopt the ‘Grassroots to Top’ approach; hence, the political appointees would represent the government at the grassroots level.

    On their modus operandi, the governor revealed that the SAs would report to his office through his Political advisers and they would operate from the offices already created for them in the 18 local government councils in the state.

    Meanwhile, the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Osarodion Ogie tasked the SSAs and SAs on discipline, accountability, and responsibility, especially at the grassroots.

     

  • Edo First Lady restates commitment to youth development

    The wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, has reaffirmed that the Godwin Obaseki-led administration believed in empowering youths and would lay emphasis on imbuing them with the skills they require to become independent, which will in turn help the economy.

    This was as she met with members of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) at the Edo State Government House in Benin City where she also noted that the government partner with the Edo State chapter of the youth council to accomplish its visions for the youths in the state.

    She said: “Youth restiveness is a major challenge in today’s world. Whenever you hear of violence, youths are usually in the middle of it. Its either the youths are fomenting trouble or hijacking the trouble because they have so much energy. However, in Edo state, the case is different; our youths are very responsible and have positive energy, which they use for the good of the state”.

    The first lady also revealed that there were elders, who were ready to understand and work with them while encouraging them to engage themselves gainfully by learning a skill and not relying only on academic qualifications, so that they could also be employers of labour in the future.

    Meanwhile, the president of the Edo state chapter of the youth Council explained that The Youth house in Benin City was an independent school involved in Skill acquisition (fashion design, computer section, advanced ICT section, catering section, laundering section among others), which run between 6 months and 1 year.

  • Obaseki assures Edo local government pensioners of arrears

    Obaseki assures Edo local government pensioners of arrears

    Edo local government pensioners yesterday protested non-payment of their entitlements as they visited the State Government House where Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu addressed their grievances.

    The protest later became a congenial meeting as both parties reached a truce on the modalities of the government’s ongoing efforts to offset their outstanding arrears and set the tone for sustainable payment process.

    They also asked for settlement of their outstanding pension arrears, enrolment of newly retired pensioners, harmonisation of their pensions, and regular payments of their monthly pensions.

    They also alleged that the bailout funds from the federal government had been used to pay the state pensioners but the local government pensioners were still being owed arrears.

    Addressing the pensioners on behalf of Governor Godwin Obaseki, Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu noted that the government felt it was lawful for them to express their grievances, as the Pensioners Association was to serve as a mediator between the state government and the pensioners.

    He said: “This is not the first time we are talking. The last time, both State and Local Government pensioners came. We discussed the issue of bailout, how it would be used and we had another meeting with the governor on it. Today, the issue of state has already been resolved. For state pensioners that have been captured, before the Governor or Deputy Governor receives their salary, they are the first to be paid. They are paid before even workers in the civil service get their salaries”.

    He, however, rued the fact that the Edo State Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners was not present at the protest because the state did not owe any money to the pensioners.

    Explaining, he revealed that since 2008, Local Governments had been in charge of their internally generated revenue, so they had also been in charge of their workers’ pensions.

    Nevertheless, the state had been responsible for paying the pensions of its workers and had already done so with the bailout funds from the federal government, while also putting modalities in place for a sustainable method of paying the pensioners their entitlements and gratuities.

    “We relied heavily on oil boon before, and so corruption spoiled the payment process. Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) will be resurrected so that pensioners can be paid directly. We are trying to boost your IGR so that you can pay yourselves. We will be in a meeting with your leaders today as it is not in our interest to see our elderly ones suffer,” he said.

    Continuing, he noted that Governor Obaseki had already set about duplicating the same system at the state level into the local government level because the government would not tolerate fraud and the state government could not remain aloof while the local government pensioners suffered.

    “So we need to help Local Governments to establish what we did at the state level so that you can pay your salary arrears and pensioners before even those that are working. The governor is determined to eradicate owing of pension and he is concerned,” he said.

     

    *PRESS RELEASE

  • Obaseki vs Ize-Iyamu: Tension in Edo as Tribunal reserves judgement date

    There was mild tension in Edo State on Monday as the election tribunal reserved a date to deliver the judgement between Governor Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress, ​(APC) ​and the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the September 28 governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

    Pastor Ize-Iyamu had filed a petition before the tribunal asking the tribunal to declare him winner of the elections based on alleged non-accreditation, over voting and non-compliance with the electoral act.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that INEC had declared Obaseki winner of the election with 319, 483 votes while Ize-Iyamu scored 253, 173 votes.

    The three man panel headed by Justice Ahmed Badamasi said a date to deliver the judgement would be communicated to parties involved in the suit after the parties adopted their written addresses.

    Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Onyechi Ikpeazu, ‎told the tribunal to dismiss Ize-Iyamu’s petition as the petitioners failed to establish instances of over-voting by not tendering the voter register, ballot papers, the recounted ballot papers and the outcome of the recounting exercise as evidence.

    Ikpeazu ‎said the proof of over-voting must be done polling unit by polling unit, rather than covering only 29 out of all the polling units in the state.

    The INEC counsel said the petitioners relied on invented figures not before the court and failed to provide competent evidence before the tribunal when they called witnesses who merely flipped through documents.

    Lead counsel to Obaseki, Chief Wole Olanipekun, urged the tribunal to dismiss the Petition on grounds that the identity of the first petitioner and who was sponsored by the PDP were different.

    His words, “They could not prove anything. They are holding onto any straw. They don’t know what they want. They didn’t tender anything. What is remaining is carcasses.”

    “The straw of corrupt practices and non-compliance raised by the petitioners was weak as they could not prove anything. The first petitioner’s claim that he got majority votes and won the election was undoable”.

    Olanipekun opined that the name of Pastor Osagie Andrew Ize-Iyamu used in the petition was different from Osagie Andrew Izs-Iyamu used for the election.

    Counsel to the APC, Lateef Fagbemi, told the tribunal that the petitioners failed to substantiate their claim of electoral irregularities in their pleadings, evidence and address.

    “I urged your lordship to hold that the petitioners have failed. There is no leg on which the deposition stand. They did not establish over-voting. If there was deduction in the recount of results declared by INEC, APC will still win by 58, 696 votes.

    Lead counsel to the petitioners, Yusuf Alli, said the most logical thing for the tribunal to do was to dismiss the submission of the respondents as there was merit in all the complaints of the petitioners.

    Ali stated that allegation of non-compliance with the electoral law was made against INEC but the electoral body failed to present any witness ‎to answer to the allegation.

    He however urged the court to uphold the petition and declared the petitioners as the winners of the election.

    “I urge the court to hold that there is merit in all the complaints of the petitioners and as result of the merit the petitioners should be declared as the duly elected candidate of the election”, he stated.

    “All said my lords, I pray you, sir, that there is merit in all the complaints of the petitioners. And that as a result of the merit of the complaints, the petitioners are entitled to be declared as the duly elected governor of Edo State from the election of September 28, 2016.‎”