Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu on Sunday exchanged hot words at the Governorship debate organised by Channels Television.
The two candidate disagreed and fought over every issue put across to them by the anchorman, Seun Okinbaloye.
In the area of tax, Iyamu said he would abolish multiple taxation and that he would not allow people to collect money and put it in their pocket like it was being done in Obaseki’s government.
“We need to Abolish multiple taxation. So many people are not in the tax net. We are going to support businesses to grow,” he said.
But Obaseki said most of the tax he collected were from Pay As You Earn, PAYE, and that he would expand on that to rake in more taxes.
“Pay as you earn accounts for the largest amount of taxes. What we have done is to try and expand that net.
“We have also used technology to ensure that for the low income tax payers, we make it easy for them to pay their taxes,” he said.
On whether the Civil Service is over bloated and whether he would cut down on the workforce, Obaseki said he would not cut down on the civil service, saying that “the problem is that it is overbloated. we need to bring in more people to work for government, smarter people and we need to train them.”
Obaseki said the problem with the Edo State Civil Service was that it is aged.
But Ize-Iyamu countered Obaseki, saying that “I think the model that the governor has tried to adopt, is to reduce the workforce to the barest minimum. but unfortunately, whatever savings he thinks he is making, is not seen in capital projects.
“The only vote that has been recorded is his security votes which has increased by over 100% but yet, there is no serious investment in the security sector.
“I want to make it clear that the civil service workforce is not overbloated. The problem is that the governor has not lifted a finger to develop the workforce; it will be suicidal to try him again. My simple agenda will be to properly utilise the Civil service.”
On job creation, Obaseki said he had created about 150,000 jobs from the 200,000 he promised during his last four years tenure.
Ize-Iyamu countered him again, saying “it is sad that the government of Obaseki falsifies figures. What the government calls jobs are appointments; those are not jobs. Every school we campaigned at had virtually no teachers. When you are talking about jobs, who did you give jobs to? We are doing badly.”
He also accused Obaseki of collecting over N75 billion in debts, wondering what he did with the money.
“My contestant has collected over N75 billion in debts. What did he do with them? All his promises remain unfulfilled despite the fact that he came in when there was high windfall in Edo.”
On security, Ize-Iyamu attacked Obaseki, saying that “there have been increase in security votes, but there have been no investment in security. Our state is one of the few in the country with no advance in technology for fighting security. Our security vehicles cannot fight security.”
He said he would invest in technology and trackers to fight criminals and cultism that had been on the rise in Edo State.
“The personnel deployed to our state for combating insecurity will be complemented by an organised state police, but we must work with the federal government and every other stakeholder. Our people must feel safe at all times,” he said.
But Obaseki countered Ize-Iyamu on security vote, saying that his “security vote is less than 5% of the total budget, but we have had to create a hybrid of sorts, in the form of PUWOV, working with federal authorities.”
On kidnapping, Ize-Iyamu lamented that it had been very high in Edo, saying that “we are not showing enough concern. If I were governor, I would have acted on veritable intelligence and mobilised security agencies to flush out the forests around Benin-Auchi road.”
But Obaseki said his administration had a software to track crime and monitor trends.
“We have deployed this a couple of times, especially when kidnapping was rife in the Ore-Okada axis. We cleared both sides of the forest and collaborated with federal authorities to bring sanity,” he said.
Obaseki stated this on Sunday during a debate which held in Benin City, six days to the commencement of the governorship poll where he is seeking re-election.
“The challenge my opponent and brother has is his thinking about government. That thinking is changing globally and it has to change locally,” he said.
Ize-Iyamu had criticised Obaseki over his administration’s efforts to privatise the health care sector, adding that the governor allegedly failed to replace teachers who have retired or died.
But defending his approach to governance, Obaseki said the pattern of government has changed globally.
The governor also reeled out his achievements in the last four years in the area of education, stressing that the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation earns N100 billion annually.
“Edo BEST earns N100 billion per annum with five million people. It means that budget-wise, you can only spend a maximum of 20,000 per citizen. What is 20,000 per citizen?
“So the thinking has to change such that the N100 billion you earn, you should be able to attract multiples of that into your economy so that there are more wealth and availability for your citizens.”
At the event, the candidates came at each other with several allegations. The most heated attacks, however, bordered on their educational qualifications, and alleged participation in cultism.
When in June Obaseki dumped the APC after his disqualification from participating in the primary that produced Ize-Iyamu as the flag-bearer of the party, there were claims that the governor was disqualified based on certain bordered on inconsistencies in his certificate.
Reacting to these claims at the debate arena in Benin, the Edo State capital, the governor said, “it is very ironic that someone who has no certificate can stand up and comment on someone whose certificate was issued by the premier university in Nigeria. That is a very sad situation that we have found ourselves in as a country.
“In 1976 when I gained admission into the University of Ibadan, there was no JAMB; you could either go into the university through prelim or through Direct Entry in your advanced level examination. I finished my O Level and my Advanced Level and it was As, so I gained admission into the University of Ibadan in 1976.
“I don’t know what has happened but for the University of Ibadan, the standard is still very high and they have come out to say that I graduated from that university. How else do you want to make that clear?
“It is very sad that in a country like Nigeria, some people who do not have the qualifications, have the effrontery to challenge the qualifications of those who went to proper schools. It is sad.”
Similarly, Mr. Ize-Iyamu the APC candidate has been accused of partaking in some occultic activity that led to his expulsion while an undergraduate at the University of Benin, but the pastor described the allegation as a ploy to dent his character ahead of the polls.
He said, “I graduated from the University of Benin. I was very active in the students’ union and my records are clear.
“People have alleged that when you were in school, you did that but I think they should go to the university authorities and find out exactly what was the offence. If you do something very criminal, the university cannot even handle it. And I am proud that throughout my stay, I was not engaged in any criminal matter.”
Reacting to the Obaseki certificate issue, Ize-Iyamu said no one doubts that Obaseki went to the university, adding that the issue is that the governor failed by his own records.
“You failed school cert, you had three credits, no English, no Maths, even to enter A’ Level would have been difficult.
“And if you got A-Level, why is it that you’ve not been able to present the A-Level, where is the result? That is a moral question. A lot of people are looking up to you as a governor and as a leader.
“The question is that you failed your A-Level and that is why you were disqualified and your disqualification arose from information from the PDP, your party now, provided. Because the PDP, when I was contesting against you (in 2016) said you have no results. Why have you not answered the question? Where are your results?”
