BENIN CITY – Edo state governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki on Thursday flagged off 29 kilometer Agbede Awai-Idegun road in fulfillment of part of his electioneering champagne promises to the people.
Flagging off the road construction, the governor recalls his experience during his visit in August in 2016 how terrible the road was.
According to him, when I came around August 2016 during our campaign and I wanted to go to ward 8 for campaign at Idegun, we left around 7am I got to Idegun around 8:30 or 9:00am and I asked what kind of suffering is this in the state and during this time, our vehicle was losing balance, then, I promised that if God made me governor the road would be one of the first that I will construct.
He said his plan is to build the road to meet the standard set by the immediate past administration.
While emphasizing the importance of the road, governor Obaseki said that the road is strategic to the plan to open up the area for the proposed 40,000 hectares of land for mechanized agricultural purposes as foreign investors are already indicating interest.
The governor while assuring the people said the construction company handling the project Heartland have been mobilize to site while the project is expected to be completed within 24 months.
He however called on the elders to give the necessary cooperation to the construction workers and should be protected.
In an address, the spokesman for the communities, Prince Abudu Lateef Momodu thanked the governor for matching words with action “we have had so many promises in the past which were never fulfilled up till now, but today we are witnessing the fulfillment of Obaseki’s promise he made less than three months after assumption of office”.
He described the governor as a unique person adding that the Oba of Agbede , HRH Momodu 11 has already acknowledge the unique qualities of the governor.
In another development, the governor also visited the Edo State Fertilizer and Chemical Company, Auchi to access the state of facilities and ways of bringing in investors to the company.
Speaking with journalists at the end of inspections, the governor expressed his dismay over the abandonment of the company.
According to him,” you can see for yourself what they built for us, when they said they industrialized Edo state, but we are grateful to God that they did not steal everything and we still have something on ground” he added.
The governor who was with some investors said with the federal government program for agriculture he decided to bring them to see the facility and see what they can do to reactivate the company.
He said the mistake they will not make again as a state is not to put our money and own a factory like this 100 percent, as we have some interest from private investors who understand the business and who are in the fertilizer business and would get them to co-invest with us.
At the West Africa Fertilizer Company Okopella, the governor said as they follow up visit to Edo fertilizer plant, where raw materials would be needed, we realized that we needed some ingredients to make the fertilizer company work.
He said the company constitutes almost 27-30 percent of the requirements for the fertilizer which are found in Okpella.
Governor Obaseki said the West Africa Fertilizer company would need about 600 trucks to move their products from the company every day and this in addition to BUA required which means a lot of job would be further created in the state.
Among the governors entourage were Mr. Uche Orji, the Managing Director of Sovereign Wealth Fund and Mr. Thomas Etu, President Fertilizer producer Association of Nigeria.
