Re: Lack Of Foreign Investment In Edo State And Its Financial Status

JOHN MAYAKI

My attention has been drawn to a spurious and watery reaction to a story on how Edo state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki wasted the huge sums of N1.77bn on foreign trips without attracting the needed investors to the state.

The report, which was sourced from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), states that Edo state has not attracted foreign investment for the past three years even with all the money spent by the governor on foreign trips for this purpose.

The assignment for the governor and his handlers is not to call names. No. The task is to simply address the issues raised. First, the report quoted NBS. I expected Obaseki’s handlers to speak to the issues raised by the NBS and not to go after my leg.

Secondly, the NBS said for the period of three years, Obaseki failed to attract foreign investment after spending N1.77bn. I had expected a sane mind to address this issue – was this amount of money spent or not? Did Governor Obaseki attract foreign investors to the state in the past three years? These are the issues begging for answers and not name calling.

Permit me to state that in this election season, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Distinguished Senator Monday Okpebholo promised issue-based campaigns. We have stuck to that and as such, we encourage the PDP to wake up to the realities confronting them.

On this issue-based campaign, we called out the governor on the abuse of his office and flagrant disregard for the constitution over his action on the non-swearing-in of the judges and suddenly, he rushed to swear in five instead of 8. We have also advised him to fully eat the humble pie and do the needful before throwing the state into unnecessary conflagration. How the PDP and Obaseki enjoy illegality and disregard for the rule of law baffles us in the APC.

I need the government of Obaseki to disapprove the report of NBS with concrete figures and evidence – showing Nigerians that in the past three years, it attracted foreign investors to the state. There’s a timeline to the report – the past three years. Obaseki must stick to that timeline.

Let me even shock Obaseki and his minders that I visited Benin City last week and engaged a Hausa boy around Aduwawa market who, in the course of our conversation, said there’s no resemblance of governance in Benin City – I was shocked. Not because I cannot testify to it myself when I arrived in the lawless and dirty city, but that someone I consider not ‘educated’ and an itinerant tomato seller from Kebbi state now understands what governance and lack of it were all about – I was ashamed.

And now, in the report by NBS, the World Bank, the institution where Obaseki borrowed the whopping sum of N40bn for EdoBest says ‘insecurity’ was the major cause why investors shy away from the lackluster government of Obaseki. It’s not my word, it’s the World Bank’s. Obaseki and his lazy handlers should look out for the report and deal with it.

And finally, let me also challenge Governor Obaseki to declare the financial status of Edo state in terms of external and domestic debt stock and where he met it in 2016 upon resumption as governor.

My findings show that Obaseki has plunged the state into a humongous debt totaling $258,400,877.66 (in external debt stock) and N126,081,366,555.30 (in domestic debt stock).

The figures and report quoted above are again sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria domestic, and foreign debt report. I challenge Obaseki to contradict these figures with another, if he yet, again doubts it just like the squandered N1.77bn taxpayers’ money wasted on looking for who’s not looking for Obaseki.

A governor who demolishes citizens’ investment cannot at the same time want foreign investors to invest in his state – it stands logic and common sense on its head. A governor who engages citizens in a duel at the market square at every provocation should not expect foreign investors, and a governor who disregards the constitution of his country to refuse to swear in legislators and judges shouldn’t expect foreign investors. Obaseki must confront the NBS report rather than ignoring it.