As activities hot up for the 2020 governorship election in Edo State, pensioners, senior citizens and other stakeholders in the state have continued to mobilise support for the re-election of Governor Godwin Obaseki on the strength of his impactful projects in different sectors of the state.
Speaking with journalists in Benin City, the senior citizens under the aegis
Elderly Persons Association of Nigeria, Edo State Chapter, expressed confidence that the governor and his deputy, Rt. Hon. Comr. Philip Shaibu will be reelected on the back of the administration’s sterling performance across all sectors of the state including education, human capacity development, industrialisation, job creation, health care, security, and infrastructural development, among others.
Vice Chairman of the association, Pa Eddy Ogbomo, while urging Edo people to support Governor Obaseki to enable him consolidate on his transformational projects and programmes in the state, said the governor has prioritised the welfare and wellbeing of elderly persons, ensuring prompt payment of pension and other entitlements.
According to Ogbomo: “Having observed what the governor has done for almost four years in office, we are full of praises; we are happy because a lot of the elderly persons in Edo State who are retired persons and senior citizens no longer go to Ring Road to cry for their monthly pension; they no longer cry to their children for stipend to feed. Governor Obaseki has performed creditably well.
“In terms of infrastructure, the governor has exceeded the expectations of the majority of Edo people. Go to the Secretariat Complex at Sapele Road and see for yourself what the governor has done for civil servants. It was during the late Samuel Ogbemudia’s era that the project was initiated, but the Governor Obaseki-led administration has completed it, among other laudable projects in the state.”
The senior citizen added: “The governor has placed Edo on a steady development trajectory, now our Edo is becoming London City. To this end, we have unanimously resolved with our executive members across the 18 local government areas to endorse Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki and his deputy Rt. Hon. Comrade Phillip Shaibu for a second term in office to complete their numerous ongoing programmes and projects in the state.
“Also, we want to use this medium to call on all Edo people, our youth, mothers and fathers as well as all elderly persons in the state to come under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s umbrella so that we will vote en masse for Governor Obaseki come September 19, 2020. Don’t waste your vote and don’t sell your voter’s card.”
The vice chair further noted: “We want to let the public know that we are not political harlots; we are elder statesmen and this association, the Elderly Persons Association of Nigeria, is a body of consistent men of 60 years and above.
Also, more accolades have come the way of Governor Obaseki, for his administration’s commitment to bridging the economic and social gaps existing between the male and female genders in the state.
A coalition of women groups in Edo State under the aegis of Edo Agenda 2030 Women, has hailed the governor for “Increasing the attention to gender equality by promoting economic empowerment and supporting enterprise growth.”
Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Louisa Eikhomun-Agbonkhese, Project Coordinator, Nigeria for Women Projects, said Governor Obaseki has performed beyond the expectations of women in the state and will be reelected to consolidate on his achievements.
Commending the governor’s efforts towards gender equality in Edo State, the Project Coordinator noted that the Obaseki-led administration has prudently deployed the state’s resources in engendering economic development and improving the lives of Edo people, with many women in the state as beneficiaries.
She said:”Over 18,000 women have been supported in poultry farming; over 54,000 Edo women have been empowered; 16,000 people (women) have benefited from the Conditional Cash Transfer; out of the over 30,000 youths employed by EdoJobs, half of them are women.”
Also, Barr. Agatha Osieke, representative of Women, Youth and Children Advancement Programme, hailed the governor for his interest in women’s development, noting that in the last three years and seven months, Governor Obaseki has empowered more women in his cabinet.
Osieke said: “There are two local government chairpersons (women), 12 Permanent Secretaries, 20 Special Assistants, 20 Senior Special Assistants, four commissioners, 400 women appointees that cut across all strata of society.”
On her part, Focal Person, Edo State Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ifueko Alufokhai added: “Obaseki is passionate about women in the state that is why he ensured that the promise to empower women in politics was fulfilled. This is the first time we are having more women in government and the governor says he is proud of the women in his administration for making him proud.”
She continued: “I am confident that the governor will do more if re-elected into office come September 19.”
