A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress APC, Hon. Pally Iriase onyesterday claimed that the lacklustre performance Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, was the problem in the state and not former governor and national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole.
The former House of Representatives, Deputy Majority Whip made this disclosure to journalists at the Abuja Airport. Iriase said the superlative performance of Oshiomhole which Obaseki would have leveraged on has been eroded due to an unnecessary face-off created by him.
“ His performance in Edo State in the last three and half years has been lacklustre and I say this with the deepest responsibility because before we voted for him he had everything laid out for him to excel because of Oshiomhole’s superlative performance.
“We voted for him because he was the chairman of the economic team while I was the pioneer SSG of that government.
“Everything was laid out for him to perform but he has missed this opportunity to excel as Oshiomhole laid a solid foundation for him,” Iriase said, adding that “these projects he is bandying around the place under SEEFOR projects are World Bank-funded with which he is working on narrow roads and other projects by NDDC in the state.
“The first four years of Oshiomhole was superlative throughout his first tenure and the then Oba of Bini of blessed memory virtually adopted Oshiomhole as his son though he is not from Benin.
“He had no problem winning after his first term because of his performance which endeared him to all Edo citizens despite the paucity of funds.
“All you hear is Obaseki vs Oshiomhole and the narrative is wrongly skewed as if Oshiomhole is running for governorship.
“Let Obaseki name the major projects in each of the 18 local governments that he has executed.
“Certainly we need to have the fear of God because giving awards for landmarks in education is something else because teachers are not paid.
Right now I pay my Alma Mata, Edeki Grammar school eleven teachers’ monthly salaries in Otuo.
“On Health, Oshiomhole performed and he started a hospital and I used my zonal Constituency funds to complete the hospital from cradle to grave, the labour room, maternity, and mortuary. X-ray and scanning machines have been installed but he refused to take ownership.
“All was required of Obaseki was to take over the hospital to stop people from dying endlessly. “All these rabble-rousing by Obaseki is to cover up his lacklustre performance in the state, me I cannot be fooled,” he noted.
