EDO State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has received commendations from a cross section of editors from both the print and broadcast media across the country for having the will power to open up the rural communities with the construction of several networks of roads barely two years and ten months in office.
“What we saw is a different Edo State all together.
The governor has succeeded in distributing roads to the rural communities,” the editors who were in Benin City for the 7th All Nigeria Editors Conference disclosed after a tour of road projects embarked upon by the state government.
There is no doubt that the people living in the rural communities in Edo State now have a different story to tell. In the past, it was a story of despair and disappointment, due to decades of criminal neglect, marginalisation and deceit by previous administrations.
As at this moment, the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Oshiomhole is putting smiles on the faces of the people, particularly the rural folks who have not been taken into consideration in the developmental plans of previous administrations.
The office of the governor, according to Comrade Oshiomhole, must be used to touch and change the lives of the people and he believes that when the various communities are linked with motorable roads, their economy is integrated into the national and state economies.
In all sectors of the economy, education, tourism, health, water, electricity and the civil service, the Oshiomhole-led administration has succeeded in making a positive statement. Take Benin City, for instance, the capital of the state has been transformed into a modern city from its unenviable status as a neglected ancient city.
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN) who was in Benin City for the 7th All Nigeria Editors Conference, on arrival, said he saw from the air before landing at the Benin Airport that there were remarkable changes in the landscape.
“From what I have seen so far, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has done well. The essence of democracy is for people to benefit from the dividends, which the governor is providing for the people in the state,” the NBA president disclosed when he paid a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House.
During his first year in office, the governor had concentrated development projects in Benin City, the state capital, with a promise that after the first year, focus will be shifted to the entire state, which will be transformed, into a construction site.
And, true to his promise, no area of the state has been neglected, especially in the construction of roads and provision of those basic amenities, such as schools and water.
Edo State governor had consistently reiterated that his administration is people- oriented and there is no doubt that the rural folk is overwhelmed with the rapid road transformation that has taken place in their communities.
They could not conceal their joy seeing bulldozers, tippers and heavy-duty earth moving equipment in their communities for the construction of their roads that were hitherto abandoned.
You could see the excitement in their faces, apparently because when these roads are commissioned, they will link and integrate the remote communities with the city centres and thereby facilitate trade and development.
The people have seen, for the first time, reputable contractors like Skaaf Construction Company, RCC, Hartland Construction, Borini Prono and Company Nigeria Limited, and a host of others working day and night to complete their assignments for which they have already been paid.
The comrade governor who led the editors on a tour of some of the road construction sites in the state took a long walk down the dualised Auchi Polytechnic Road in Etsako West and they saw the excitement of the people who showered encomiums on the government for transforming the town into a mega city.
They also visited the Usogun Primary School in Auchi, which was reconstructed, by the state government, the Jattu-Auchi road, Jattu-South Ibie road, Jattu-Afowa-Iyora-Apana road, the Iyamho-Iyora road and the Jattu Ayua roads, as well as the Iyamho Primary School.
The construction of the Iyamho and Iyora roads was the best thing that had happened to both communities because with the construction of the roads the movement of goods will become easier, the relationship between them will be strengthened.
In the words of Comrade Oshiomhole, the reason the village people are poor is because they are not integrated with the cities and they also lack educational institutions.
He has therefore ensured that modern secondary and primary schools are built across the state, because, according to him, “any government that cannot provide education for the young ones is doomed.”
The people in the rural communities have expressed appreciation to the State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for opening up their villages with the construction of several networks of roads, which were hitherto abandoned by past administrations.
At the Afowa- Iyora- road in Etsako West, a trader, Madam Florence Agono said the road will enhance commercial activity, which was lacking in the past and she prayed for the governor for long life for remembering them.
In the words of Alhaji Sule Braimah, from Jattu - Ayua, “we have never seen this kind of government presence and we can now take our farm produce to the markets with ease, because the road was terribly bad in the past.”
The state governor who told the Editors that government is determined to link the rural communities with the urban towns through the construction of network of roads said the people were informed in the past that due to the difficult terrain nothing could be done on some of the roads.
The governor noted that he is satisfied with the extent of work done on all the roads going on in the three senatorial districts of the state, especially those that are newly constructed, to provide access to the rural communities.
Comrade Oshiomhole who expressed total commitment to the development of all parts of the state said the joy in the faces of members of the communities where the projects are sited shows that they appreciate what God is using him to do.
According to Mr. Steve Ayorinde, Managing Director of National Mirror Newspapers, while expressing his satisfaction with the efforts of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in the transformation going on in the State, the developmental strides achieved by the governor are impressive.
”We have visited the rural communities in Edo State and we are happy with the way the governor is opening up the communities.
It is apparent that if there have been other leaders like Oshiomhole, Nigeria would have been a better place,” he noted.
According to him, if the governor does not go for a higher office, then his second tenure will witness tremendous transformation.
In the words of Mr Femi Adesina, Deputy Managing Director of the Sun Newspapers, the roads are of high quality, noting that what they had seen was a true reflection of the dividends of democracy in Edo State.
The governor was commended by a cross section of the Editors including the Editor of Sunday Sun, Funke Egbemode, for having the will power to open up the rural communities.
”What we saw is a different Edo State all together. The Governor has succeeded in distributing roads to the rural communities,” they added.
