Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has said that if the current political crisis he is facing cost him the opportunity to govern the state for a second term, he would be glad of his achievements.
Speaking yesterday when members of Benin Community in Abuja led by their President, Dickson Omoregie, paid him a solidarity visit, the governor said that one major reason why some persons are fighting him is the fact that he has vehemently refused to share the Edo state money for personal aggrandizement.
He also said that the political quagmire in the state involving members of the State House of Assembly was being instigated by an individual from Abuja, just as he vowed that he would prove that the weight of the people is bigger and heavier than that of an individual.
Governor Obaseki who noted that he was proud of his achievements and the level of development he has brought to the state since he was elected, said that even if he governs the state for a term, he will be fulfilled and vindicated in future, adding that when he rounds off as governor, he would go back to his business.
He said, “I am proud of my performance, even if I spend one term. What have I done wrong? My only offence is that I don’t share Edo money. I am determined to prove that the weight of the people is weightier than that of anybody.”
The governor assured the people that the state is peaceful saying that if not for the peaceful nature of the people, there would have been violent protest in the state against the decision of the House of Representatives on the political impasse in the State House of Assembly.
“In my electioneering campaigns, I was clear that if God gives me mandate, I will do my beat for the state. I have been doing this silently behind the scene for 8 years before I became governor.
I was very clear about my focus and I said the youth is my first primary concern. Goggle human trafficking, the first city you see is Edo. That’s why my first visit was to our technical college.
The money we are getting from Abuja wasn’t adequate. So, given my background, I sought to bring investors so that they can engage our people.
I have gone to great lengths to try to explain that it is about a reform to change Edo from what it is to what we had hoped and pray for it to be. And that is why I decided to be governor, I don’t have any future political ambition only to finish by the grace of God and go back to my business which is suffering. I didn’t come to make money in government house. I didn’t come to make name, by the grace of God he has given me one.
“So I want to tell you that the crisis we have had today has come to an end and we must resolve it. Edo is for Edo people, not for individuals. No matter whom they think they are, we all will play our own roles and leave. What will remain is our state. I endured so much as a governor.“
