BENIN CITY – The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has assured the state selection committee for the Federal Government’s Special Public Works Programme of sufficient structures within the state to enhance the effectiveness of the programme.
He said this during a courtesy visit by the selection committee for the Federal Government’s Special Public Works Programme led by Prof. Sam Guobadia at the Government House, Benin City.
“I don’t see this programme as a Federal Government programme. I see it as a programme for Nigerians and Edo people. There has to be sacrifice. We have to reduce the amount of bureaucracy that we need to deploy programmes like this,” the governor said.
Obaseki added: “We should just be midwives. We cannot begin to create programme vehicles. The entire infrastructure you need already exists; if you work closely with established institutions at the state and local government levels, then you can rely on what they have already.
“We don’t have too much money as a country; we need to, as much as possible, spread the little we have. We are very anxious and concerned about our people. This is why we want to make sure that we put people to work.
“There are enumerators already in the state. They just completed enumeration in Oredo Local Government Area.”
The governor assured the group of the needed support to carry out its assignment effectively.
Earlier, Prof. Guobadia called on the governor to provide the team with logistics and security to allow them perform optimally.
