We Had A Lot To Show Our People, Obaseki Says Of Victory

CHANNELS TV

Edo State governor-elect, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has described his victory in the Edo state governorship election as humbling yet deserved because of the hard work of his party in the state over the years.

Mr Obaseki was on Channels Television’s News At 10 on Thursday, few hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner of the Edo election.

“We have worked very hard over the last eight years to reestablish governance in Edo state. So we had a lot to show to our people and we were able to convince them why we needed to continue with the development strides we started about eight years ago,” he said.

Mr Obaseki restated his commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises, top of which is the creation of jobs.

He explained that his approach would be first to document the available unemployment data in the state to form the basis of the implementation of his plans.

“These will include short term vocational training, skill acquisition and other technical trainings we need to provide them.

“The key here is trying to get people back to work, creating opportunities for them to work,” he said.

Also top on the mind of Mr Obaseki is building infrastructure and reforming the educational system in the state.

Ability To Raise Money

Nigerians have wondered how the state would generate the resources to execute the promises of the APC candidate, considering the current economic crisis the country is battling.

But Mr Obaseki, whose background is Investment Banking, was of the view that the money needed to create the bulk of the jobs required in Nigeria exists.

“It doesn’t take rocket science if you have the experience and the knowledge to do this,” he said, reeling out his pedigree in the financial system and expressing confidence in his ability to raise money for Edo state irrespective of expectations from the federal government.

“What people don’t realise is that today we earn about 25 billion from taxes alone outside of what we get from Abuja and the budget support we get from the World Bank, other multinational agencies and all other creative financing we can put in place.

“As long as you are efficient and you are honest about the way you spend public money, you will be able to find the money to do the critical things you need to do. It is about prioritization,” he said.

INEC declared Mr Godwin Obaseki winner of the Edo State governorship electionwhich held on Wednesday, September 28.

After the collation of results from the 18 local government areas, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate polled a total of 319,483 votes while his closest rival from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osagie Ize-Iyamu, polled 253,173 votes.