Untold Story of Obaseki’s Achievements in Road Construction, Rehabilitation in Edo

By Arthur Ogunro

The recent write-up by some ghostwriters paid by disgruntled opposition elements to smear mud on the huge acceptance that Mr. Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard bearer for the September 21 governorship poll in Edo State, has been getting is not unexpected.

Sensing that defeat is imminent for their choice candidates as Ighodalo/Osarodion Ogie combination has become the talking point in gatherings within and outside the state, the naysayers have resorted to throwing up whatever falsehood they feel can sway the people’s minds against the PDP Dream Team. 

Not too sure of how they can score cheap points in their dirty game of maligning the reputable image of the acclaimed leading duo ahead of the polls coming up in about four months. The ignoramus ghostwriters and their illegitimate paymasters from all indications are of the view that some dedicated supporters of the PDP Dream Team can be pulled down if only to give the wrong signal that they can be equated to collateral damage what in the game of soccer can be described in local parlance as “if you miss the ball don’t miss the legs”.

Their write-up missed their intended target especially as none of their “many residents of Edo State outside the state capital, Benin City,” who they claimed “have given Governor Godwin Obaseki a condition to fix their deplorable roads before they will vote for his candidate in the September 21 governorship election,” was allowed to be heard and identified. Not one person. Such a shoddy job! 

According to the ghostwriters, the so-called residents are saying that “the governor cannot perform so poorly and expect them to vote for his candidate.”

What a tragedy! If the known enemies of the people of Edo State who hide under the canopy of opposition politicians think they can make Governor Godwin Obaseki a soft target of the unwarranted attack to diminish the high rating that Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie are getting from the good people of the state they got it all wrong. 

Let’s borrow from their language in their poorly packaged writing “For this reason,” we want the assemblage of opposition elements and their errand boys to take note that Governor Obaseki, whom they’re trying unsuccessfully to drag in the mud has a very high rating globally, the kind of rating that none of their generations would ever have. 

Let’s bring back from memory just a few of the awards bestowed on Governor Obaseki by reputable groups/organisations in the past years. 

In 2019, he was honoured with the Governor of the Year award by two national newspapers, Daily Independent and NewsDirect. He also received the Silverbird Group’s 2019 Extraordinary Personality Award.

Edo State under the leadership of Governor Obaseki emerged second best-performing state in the Nigeria Portfolio Performance Awards organised by the World Bank Nigeria Country Office for state governments and federal institutions in 2019.

The many achievements recorded by Governor Obaseki’s administration earned him the Vanguard’s Governor of the Year Award 2021. In 2022, Governor Obaseki emerged winner of the Zik Leadership Prize for Good Governance and Professional Leadership.

The governor received the National Information Technology Merit Award (NITMA) IT Gold Merit Award by the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS). That was in 2023. The award recognises his outstanding contributions to Information Technology (IT) development in Edo State.

That same year, Governor Obaseki received recognition from the Rotary Club and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) for his impressive performance in office. The awards are the Rotary Award of Excellence in recognition of the outstanding performance of Governor Godwin Obaseki in surveillance within the PEI in Nigeria, and the ICAN award to the state government for ranking third amongst the 36 states and the Federal Government in the 2020 Accountability Index (ICAN-AI).

As Messr ghostwriters and their paymasters insist: “The governor needs to tell the people of the state, which road he has constructed or rehabilitated since he came to power in 2016.”

Let’s refresh their memories with a list of some of Governor Obaseki’s avalanche of projects. The Benin-Abraka Road is a 88km road project abandoned by the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The Edo State Government has awarded 40.5km out of the 88km and work has reached an advanced stage. This road is a strategic road that leads to Orhionmwon Local Government Area which plays host to the largest oil palm project in Africa as well as gas and crude oil fields.

Construction of the Ekehuan-Ugbiyokho Road project is ongoing and on completion, the road will be very significant as it leads to Gelegele which is the closest point to the Benin Port Project. The state government is deploying concrete technology in the construction of low-line areas of the road project.

To date, the state government has completed the construction of 565 roads, covering a total distance of 737.37 kilometres. Among the notable projects is the construction of the PZ-Ehioghae-Okabere-Oka Market Road, which links Sapele Road and Upper Sakponba; the Irhirhi-Aruogba-Obazagbon-Ogheghe Road; Ugbor-Amagba Road; St. Saviour Road; Benin-Abraka Road with spurs; the dualization of the TV and Ehaekpen Road, and rehabilitation of failed sections on various roads.

Other roads in Edo South include Temboga, Mechanic Road, Forestry, Omomo Street, 19th Street & environ, Ekehuan Road, Agbonkina Street, Uwelu Road, Owina – Evbuotubu Road, Okpagha – Amufi Road, Ikpako-Ajoki Road, Okundia, Omo-Ojide, Osamudiamen Street in 2nd Ugbor, Gapiona and environs, rehabilitation of failed portions of Siluko-Iguadolor-Ogbesse from Iguadolor, Evbiemwen, Planwell Road.

In Edo North, the state government completed the construction of the Afokpella-Ogriga-Okugbe Road with Awuyemi Spur, as well as the rehabilitation of the Secretariat Road in Igarra and several internal roads like Sobe-Sanbongida-Ora Road, Ikiran – Oke – Ikakumoh Road, rehabilitation of Akhigbe Street, Afuze Secretariat Road, Ugboha Road and others. 

In Edo Central, the state government has constructed 56 roads, while about nine roads are still under construction. Among the notable roads constructed in the Edo Central Senatorial zone include the Ekpoma-Iruekpen Road and the Idumebo-Ihumudumu Royal Market Road, Ugboha Road. The construction of Otor Idumozar and Oseghale Market Road, tehabilitation of failed sections on critical roads comprising Uwenlodia Road, Ekpoma; Momodu/Olele Roads Irrua and F. O. Momoh Road, Ewu. 

Others include Idunwele – Eguare Road, Ewu; G2 Road, Ekpoma; Iyare Road, Ekpoma; Iruekpen roundabout, Iruekpen; SK Foam Road, Ekpoma and Omokhodion Road, Ekpoma. There is also Isiebhelua Street, Ekpoma; Osebor Road, Ekpoma; Dova Road, Ekpoma and Aburimen Road, Ekpoma among other impactful developments.

* Mr. Ogunro, President, The Conscious Watchmen, writes from Benin City