Blame Gov Obaseki For Deplorable Federal Roads In Edo State – APC

By Ayodele Oni

The Edo State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress, (APC), has mocked Governor Godwin Obaseki on State of federal roads, saying the Governor should be held responsible.

The party gave assurances on the readiness of the APC -led federal government to begin restorative work aimed at addressing the worsening situation of federal roads in the state.

Some of the affected roads include  Benin- Auchi, Benin – Sapele road as well as the Benin- Asaba road which are all in very terrible conditions.

Governor Obaseki had placed the blame squarely on the federal government, insisting that even when his administration sought for approval to rehabilitate some of the deplorable federal roads in the state, the Federal Government refused.

Edo State chapter chairman of the party, Col David Imuse (retd), in a statement in Benin city accused Gov Obaseki of gross misapplication of the state resources as well as the failure to think outside the box.

In addition, the chairman described the governor’s accusation as an exaggerated fiction to “score cheap political points” and to deflect away from the failures of his administration.

Assuring citizens of Edo State of the seriousness of the APC-led federal government in tackling the infrastructure gaps facing the state, Col. Imuse enjoined them to resist the “propaganda and the game of deceit” employed by the Obaseki’s administration.

“We understand the pains and the frustrations our citizens face daily as they commute on these roads and I will want to assure them that a lasting solution is in the horizon.

“The roads got worst because the state governor is not proactive. While his colleagues who repaired the bad federal roads in their domain were later reimbursed, Gov Obaseki sat back and did nothing until the roads deteriorated and became completely impassable.

“The Federal Government has prioritized the federal roads in Edo State and very soon repair works will commence on them.”

Col. Imuse also accused the state government of profligacy and challenged it to account for the billions of naira it has received from the federal government between 2016 and last year.

Citing some instances, he asked to know what the state government did with the N16bn refund it received from the federal government for the amount spent on the repair of federal roads by his predecessor.

He also cited the over N21bn derivation windfall as an oil bearing state, adding that at the end of the day, Gov Obaseki displayed complete ineptitude in the management of these huge windfalls.