By Lucky Isibor
The Edo State government has distanced itself from the statement credited to Emmanuel Akpan AKA Egogo in a viral video, threatening opposition political parties, especially the African Democratic Party ADC to stay off Edo State, warning that if they come to the state they’ll be handed over to the police for onward movement to Abuja for incaceration.
Making the disclaimer at a press conference in Benin City, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua noted that Egogo’s statement did not reflect the opinion of Okpebholo’s government and called on local and international investors to come and invest in Edo State, assuring that the state is safe and secure for for investment to thrive.
He added that the Okpebholo-led government welcomes opposition and constructive criticism, noting that it helps ruling party to think better.
“We want to disown that statement as not the position of government, but as the voice of an individual. It is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies to keep people in check within the rank and file of the society.”
He further stated that, “We found totally shocking the kind of incendiary statements credited to the guy popular called Egogo. It is not our article of trade. It is not our thematic focus as a government.”
He said, “We welcome opposition, robust engagement, constructive engagement, collective bargaining. Opposition helps ruling parties to think better. If you follow the pattern of administration of Senator Monday Okpebholo, you will realize that it is such an individual whose humanity is very powerful, very impressive,” Afegbua said.
While on local and foreign investors to make Edo State the preferred destination for their investments, Afegbua pointed out that there has been a lot of transformation and improvement in the security architecture of the state, adding that “there is huge opportunity in the state for businesses to grow.”
“We have huge land available for agriculture for people who want to invest in rice production. There are people who are already growing cassava aside from that of government. There are people who are already growing palm produce. Aside from the big ones like Okomu and the Presco Palm Oil companies. There are other people who are also into maize farming,” he said.
Speaking further, Afegbua noted only recently, Edo government signed an agreement with the Chinese firm for a 10 million metric ton of cement production. “By middle of next month, the first step towards realizing that goal will commence,” he disclosed.
He explained that developmental challenges and existential threats are part of what any leadership will confront in an emerging democracy such as Nigeria. But he said the ability to mitigate some of these incidences and come up with time tested solutions by way of policies and programmes has been the hallmark of the government of Senator Okpebholo.
He stated that the governor has consistently maintained that the resources accruing to the state is the reason why he has been able to achieve much in a short time, attributing the surplus funds to the consequence of subsidy removal.
Afegbua stressed that the state government has been living up to expectation, adding the state internally generated revenue every month now hovers around N9.5 to N10 billion.