Edo 2024: Over Six Million Edo Residents Have Benefited From Obaseki’s Free Bus Ride – Nehikhare
… urges Okpebholo to address Edo people in his mother tongue
By Rosemary Okoduwa
The Edo State Commissioner of Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, today in a press briefing in Benin City, the Edo State Capital, appealed to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming Edo governorship election, Senator Monday Okpebholo, to come and address Edo people in Pidgin English or in his native Esan language. He added that the APC has well over 150 Spokesperson yet they haven’t been able to tell Edo people what are their plans for development.
He noted that the government of Godwin Obaseki has continuously given out over 1. 2 billion Naira monthly for the feeding of the most vulnerable in the society stressing that Godwin Obaseki has employed well over 5000 persons into the public service and that everybody is expecting the APC to tell Edo people what they would do to develop Edo State
“We want to point out that no candidate in the history of Edo State has had over 150 spokespersons and says nothing by himself. It is quite embarrassing and speaks volume to the quality of the APC candidate.
“Our PDP Government led the charge in the country to raise the minimum wage to N70, 000, and the party’s candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo has promised to look at ways to further increase the figure. We want to hear from the APC and its candidate what their plan is in this regard. Are they going to increase or reduce the minimum wage like they said few weeks ago when they thought the Federal Government was offering N62, 000 as minimum wage. Do they have a more innovative way to raise funds to finance the minimum wage? What exactly is their plan?
“Since September 2023, the Governor Obaseki-led state government has been offering free bus ride to Edo residents in the wake of the fuel subsidy removal by the APC-led Federal Government, which has plunged the people into untold hardship and suffering. It is on record that this programme since its launch has benefitted over six million Edo residents from the three senatorial districts of the State. We want to hear the plans of the APC and their candidate. Are they going to scrap or sustain the programme? What does the party envision in this regard?
“It is common knowledge that the Edo State Government has employed over 5000 people into the service in the last five years. We want to know how many more people the APC and its candidate plan to employ or are they going to retrench employees to be able to pay the N70, 000 minimum wage which obviously only the PDP Government has plans for its sustainability”?
Also speaking , the Special adviser on Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie urged the police to go after the thugs who were captured on camera welding AK 47 and other assorted guns at the Airport Road in the Benin City metropolis on the day of the shooting and killing of inspector Akor Onuh
“The police should go and check the Newspapers and see the faces of the people who were carrying guns on Airport Road on the day of shooting and killing of a police officer and we urge the police to do a discreet investigation and bring the culprits to book”