The Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Hon. Chris Nehikhare has revealed a six-day lined up activities to celebrate Edo at 33, stating that thirty-three years ago, on August 27, 1991, Edo State was created.
The State Government will be celebrating the memorable occasion with activities starting from Sunday, August 25 to Saturday, August 31.
With the theme: ‘The Glory of the New Edo Nation’, the six-day activities according to Nehikhare, will capture all aspects of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s developmental strides in education, housing, culture, tourism, economy, and security among others.
He added that the Obaseki-led administration has been deliberate with its policies and plans for the Edo people and its future.
“A Master Plan is a deliberate action a civilized government can do for its people. The Master Plan has been on for the past two years, and Edo people are carried along across the 18 Local Government Areas of Edo State,” Nehikhare remarked.
With billboards already displaying the poster of an Edo-born personality in the music space, Divine Ikubor (aka Rema) who is expected to lead other star performers mainly of Edo State extraction to a live performance in commemoration of the event, Benin City anticipates the most celebrated fanfare amidst planned varied celebrations.
On her part, Isoken Omo, Commissioner for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development, stated that Edo people are resilient, beautiful, cultured, and strong people.
“There are so many things coming out from Edo, and this is just telling our story the way we know it.
“Yes, we’re a sub-national, we’re not just sub-national we are a big sub-national,” she added.
Isoken disclosed that the celebration, which was supposed to have been held some three years ago at Edo at 30, was shifted to this year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic which was prevalent then.
She stressed that one of the highlights of the six-day show will be the launching of the Edo State Regional Development and Benin City Master Plan, billed for Tuesday, August 27, at the Victor Uwaifo Centre, Airport Road, Benin City.
According to her, another interesting event would be the award night.
“It is to recognise people who have contributed to Edo State’s growth in the last 30 years and not only that, you cannot talk about the Edo story without going back to Bendel and Midwest,” she maintained.
Adding her voice, Joan Oviawe, the Commissioner for Education in her submission, said: “If you’re talking about the glory of the new Edo nation, it’s only important that our young people understand that and imbibe it.”
The Education Commissioner further expressed that the Obaseki-led administration has encapsulated what it is to be Edo and what the State has done in the education sector.
“We enacted education and the re-birth of Edo. In the course of the programme, we would bring our children together to interface with various aspects of the Master Plan. We want our children to know the in and out of the Master Plan,” she added.
In the same vein, the Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Uyi Oduwa-Malaka said, “For us, it’s the rebirth, the renewal of all our hopes, all our aspirations. It’s indeed the celebration of our achievements as a people.”
Dr. Uyi Oduwa Malaka reiterated that the State will use the event to welcome home an Edo child, Rema, in a concert at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on the 30th of August 2024.
She noted that a lot of events are lined up for the celebration which includes street carnival, groundbreaking, opening, and commissioning of legacy projects of the Obaseki-led administration like the Benin City Mall amongst others.
