‘I ‘ll not be a puppet to any godfather’

•Obaseki

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said he would not be a puppet to any godfather, if elected governor. Obaseki made the declaration during a live programme on TVC monitored in Benin-City yesterday.

He said: “I will not be a puppet to any godfather or godmother if I become governor of Edo State”. The APC candidate said if he needed to be a puppet to anybody, he would rather be a puppet to the good people of Edo State, whose mandate are required to become the governor. Obaseki described  Governor Adams Oshiomhole as a true democrat who, according to him, does not like the concept of godfatherism, let alone expecting someone else to be his puppet.

He commended the great achievements of the administration of which he was an integral part, and promised to work on the good template already set by the governor to move the state to greater heights. Obaseki promised to make a more positive difference in governance and deliver more dividends of democracy to the good people of the state.

On how his government would generate 200,000 jobs for youths in his first four years in office, Obaseki said he hoped to achieve this through agricultural reforms and by creating the necessary enabling environment for investors to come and do business in Edo State.

He maintained that the goal is achievable, adding that Edo State, with all its abundant endowment in agriculture, land, gas, bitumen, forestry and other resources, has the capacity to provide 200,000 jobs for its teeming youths.

He added: “Edo State has 20 million hectares of arable land, 256 mining licences and one of the largest onshore gas reserves in the country. With all these endowments, we have no excuse to be poor. It is for this, that we demand that our people vote en mass for the good work of APC in Edo State to continue by putting the round peg in the round hole.”