Obaseki made the assertion yesterday at an interactive session with civil society organizations in Edo State. He noted that with declining oil revenues and the consequent reduction in federal allocation to states, fresh ideas are needed in the running of government today, and that diversifying the economy has become even more imperative to ensure sustainable growth and development.
He noted that the viability of a state boils down to its productive capacity.
According to him “Edo State lost two generations to bad governance by the PDP and to ‘career politicians’. The political base can no longer be restricted to people with traditional political anthem; we now need to infuse fresh blood, thinking and resources into our politics, and that is what people like me came into the political scene to characterize.”
“Yes! I believe that I fit into that new paradigm of governance. Also, having served the state in the last eight years, I am very clear on the direction that we should be looking in order to move Edo State to the next level of infrastructural development, industrial growth and technological advancement.”
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“Lagos has shown itself as a model, and I don’t see the reason why we can’t have other models in Nigeria with Edo blazing the trail as a mini-sized Nigerian state that can survive as a country. To achieve this status, we require competent, credible and hardworking managers, and that is what I am.”
Obaseki further urged civil society groups in the state to stay true to their cause as advocates for the entrenchment of good governance. “It is important that civil societies remain what they are meant to be. That is, to serve as watchdogs for the government and as promoters of democratic values.”
On harnessing the state’s natural endowment for economic prosperity, the APC flagbearer said “Edo is blessed with abundant natural resources, the greatest of which is our human capital. It is the quality of our human capital that enabled us to build empires here, and if we can optimize the abundant human talent we have today, nothing can stop us as a people.
“This is why we have placed such a high premium on education in our prosperity agenda. We need to retrain the teachers, revise the curriculum to include technical education and skills acquisition programmes, and prepare this generation for the fourth industrial revolution. We have done it through the centuries, and I have no doubt that we can do it again”, he assured.
