I don’t expect Okpebholo to reverse my reforms — Obaseki

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has expressed optimism that some of his administration’s reforms will outlive the incoming government of governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo.

Obaseki, whose second and last tenure would expire on Nov. 11, expressed the optimism in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

Speaking on concerns about continuity of some of his reforms after his administration, Obaseki said that his government had made efforts to institutionalise some of them.

Obaseki said: “The people are very aware of our reforms and legacies we are leaving behind. I don’t think because there is a change in government, they will change some of these reforms.

“Even if the government this is coming doesn’t support or encourage them as we used to, they (reforms) will not disappear.

“Beyond this, in the reforms we have undertaken, we have institutionalised or started the process of institutionalising some of them.

“The people know, and I doubt if they will keep quiet for long, allowing things to go back to what it used to be without complaining or shouting.

“I’m optimistic that they (reforms) will last,” he said

He said that workers and parents, whose children were enjoying EdoBEST e-learning education and other initiatives, would not allow the incoming All Progressives Congress-led administration to tamper with them.

He said that his administration had restored respect to civil service, revolutionalised education, improved electricity, internet connectivity and road infrastructure, among others.

According to him, the role of government is to provide infrastructure and to create an enabling environment for citizens to do what they need to do.

“What are the critical infrastructures we need today? Fundamentally, in Nigeria, people need electricity, connectivity, and roads,” he said.

The governor said that with robust partnership with the private sector, the state government had succeeded in encouraging electricity generation by attracting firms like Azura and Ossiomo Power.

He said that this was to create the state-own electricity markets and to encourage investments in distribution of power within the state.

Obaseki said that his administration had ensured stable electricity to power public institutions and infrastructure in metropolitan Benin city.

“We are lucky in a way in Edo, because of our location, we are a core, a hub for electricity.

“Edo is the cheapest point to generate electricity because it costs about a million dollars for a kilometer of gas pipeline.

“And it also costs about a million dollars for a kilometer of transmission. Edo is that point where electricity transmission meets gas transmission.

“So, if you generate electricity in Edo today, you can upload and sell it into the grid.

“Edo also has the largest onshore reserves of gas. Most of our gas is either deep offshore or in the swamp,” he said.

According to him, Edo remains one of the few states that can have their own electricity market.

Obaseki said that his administration also prioritised fibre optics infrastructure for connectivity across the 18 Local Government Areas in the state.

He said: “In today’s world, without connectivity no country is going anywhere in the world. So, we have also invested heavily in this to give access.

“We built networks across all the 18 local governments in the state.”

It was reported that Obaseki will hand over to Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), following his victory in the Sept. 21 governorship election in the state.