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World Bank, UNICEF, IOM, Others Validate Impact of Obaseki’s Devt Programmes in Edo
Oluchi Chibuzor
The World Bank, the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) among others have hailed Governor Godwin Obaseki for his government’s impactful and life-changing reforms and programmes that have continued to translate to improved livelihoods in Edo.
The Director Global Education, World Bank, Jamie Saadevadra; Chief Education Officer (Nigeria) UNICEF, Saadhna Panday and the Chief of Mission, IOM, Laurent De Boeck, while speaking in Benin City during a dinner organized by the state government, hailed Obaseki’s impressive and pragmatic approach to governance and for implementing nuanced reforms and programmes to deliver on the government’s development objectives and achieve progress across all sectors of the state’s economy.
Others who also validated the governor’s development programmes are the representative of the Italian Government and Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stefano De Leo; Senior Programme Officer at Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Clio Dintihac, and the Regional Vice President (Africa), Udacity, Emman Nour Ahmed Raslan, among others.
The World Bank representative, who described Edo as an accelerator state, said Edo under the leadership of Governor Obaseki is among the only ten sub-nationals in the world with the political will to transform education and tackle learning poverty.
Jamie noted “Across the world, we’re faced with a huge challenge; we face what I describe as a silent crisis. One that we don’t see any one dying each day but we see so many children across the world, even if they go to school, are not learning or getting the skills they require to succeed in life. That’s a challenge we have everywhere, including in Nigeria and Edo.”
While commending the governor for the successes recorded in the education and other sectors of the state, the UNICEF representative assured that the global education body “will continue to partner and ensure the technical support to provide all that’s needed to take the EdoBEST programme to the next level.”
Panday said, “Let me say how delighted we are at UNICEF to be partnering with Edo state. It has really been wonderful visiting various schools in the state. I have had the opportunity to travel and see schools across the country, and today, seeing the Edo example and what is possible and has been achieved here, it is really heartwarming. We are in 190 countries across the world and I must say that we really look forward to taking the EdoBEST programme to, not only to other states in Nigeria but to other countries across the world. Many other countries could learn from the Edo example and that’s our commitment to you.”
On his part, the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria hailed the state government for the launch of the second phase of the Managing Migration through Development Project, assuring that the government will partner with the state on job creation, as well as investment and training opportunities, among others.
According to him, “The Italian Government invested about €2m in this project expected to last for two years because we strongly believe that the projects of economic development and growth by the government of Edo State led by His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki need to be supported. These are innovative projects and programmes because they were drafted by the state government.”
In his response, Obaseki thanked the partners for their collaboration and support, reassuring that his administration will sustain efforts to ensure sustainable growth and development in the state.
He said, “We are here reviewing what we have done and collaborations with various partners that have led to the successes we have recorded across all sectors today. We can only say that we are in the middle of a journey. We have started a process and cannot go back.
