In this exclusive interview with ISAAC OLAMIKAN, Hon. Henry Idahagbon, a former Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Edo State, speaks extensively about the trending political issues in the state and also gave an assessment of the three years of Governor Godwin Obaseki in office.
Excerpts:
On the endorsement of Godwin Obaseki for a second tenure
The purported endorsement is a charade. A child’s play. What is being called Emababa that’s children playing with sand outside. Firstly, it is not yet time for any endorsement. The primaries are still a couple of months away. The timetable for Edo elections have not been released. All he did was to gather into the Festival Hall in government house some of his cheerleaders and he distributed N100,000 each to them. We are aware that the party chairman of Etsako Central, Hon. Bagudu, openly challenged him at the gathering. That endorsement is null and void and of no effect whatsoever. It counts for nothing. It is like the time you used to sleep with a barren woman. The result is nothing. In the eye of the party there is nothing like endorsement yet. If he is still a member of the party and is interested in contesting under the platform of the party, when the timetable comes let him submit himself for the primary election. It is simple. All that he is doing is the antics of a governor who has lost touch with the party.
On thugs attacking protesters and journalists
It is an unfortunate development. Godwin Obaseki came to power and promised to eradicate cultism and thuggery from our politics. It was one of the sanitation of Ring Road. One of the things that gave him the initial applause by the people. Before Obaseki we may have thugs in our politics and I think that applies to all the states in Nigeria. He took away the thugs, gave them uniform and brought them back. So, what we now have under Obaseki are branded thugs; state government backed thugs – PUWOV(Public Works Volunteers) headed by Muntari Osagie. That’s what he has done. It is unbelievable that in a democracy civil society members would be protesting against government policy which is unholy privatisation of Edo State Specialist Hospital built with tax payers fund only to be privatised to an Igboman. A non-Edo person. Does it mean that Obaseki cannot find one doctor from the whole of Edo State, if he was interested in privatising hospital, to give that hospital to? Ironically, an Edo son, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has just been elected president Commonwealth Association of Doctors. So, the number one doctor in the whole of the Commonwealth is an Edo son, yet Obaseki has privatised our hospital to an Igbo person. Of course, we know his background. May be he is an Igboman masquerading as an Edo man.
For him to brutalise members of the civil society who are engaged in a peaceful protest against a government policy they disagree with shows that we have descended into full fledged dictatorship in Edo State. We do no longer have a democratically elected governor. We have an intolerant governor that doesn’t have a skin for criticism. We have a governor who sees himself as a philosopher king. An all knowing governor that is above the criticism of the people that he is supposed to govern. Let me remind him that as governor of the state he is a steward, a servant to the people. He is no master. He sees himself as master and Edo State, especially APC, as a conquered territory. But he is not. He is a steward, a servant. He enjoys all the privileges available to him and his family members today because of the sweat and vote of Edo people which we have a right to withdraw at any moment. It is unfortunate. I will advice the civil society members to go to court because his uniformed thugs are very well known to the members of the society.
Let me also inform him that we are aware of his scheming. Some days ago I was at the airport (in Benin) and they put a call through to them at the government house that I was there. They sent a squad to come and attack me. Unfortunately, before the squad got there I was already airborne. We are aware that their uniformed thugs are monitoring our movement at the airport and they have promised to come and attack us the way they attacked Blessing Agbomhere and Senator Mathew Urhoghide were attacked at the same airport. But let us also inform them that we are ready for them. That no amount of fear or intimidation by any uniformed thug of Godwin Obaseki will deter us from this cause that we have chosen which we believe is a just cause. Let them meet us anywhere and anytime in this town. We are ready for them. Just as he (Obaseki) said that he is prepared to die for Edo State many of us are also ready to die for the state. But by the grace of God we will live and see the state grow and outlive the deception of Obaseki.
Obaseki’s poor scorecard
When governors mark election anniversaries they commission landmark projects. By tomorrow (November 12) Obaseki will be three years in office. Not one project has been commissioned. Not one. I dare the state government to mention one landmark project initiated and executed to completion. Benin Technical College (BTC) is still an ongoing project after three years. Recall he was sworn in on a weekend. His first working day was on a Monday. He went to the Benin Technical College. By tomorrow it will be three years. It is not a new project. It is a reconstruction project. Benin Technical College was established by General Samuel Ogbemudia so Obaseki is reconstructing it. It is still not completed. There is no road that he has done that they can commission. The major road that he has done is the Ehiakpen – Television Road. I dare him to go and commission it. The road is already pulling off. Tell me one school that he has done and they can commission. Tell me one hospital that he has done and they can commission. There is nothing. He was a Special Adviser in Oshiomhole’s government and he knows that during anniversaries Oshiomhole will bring top personalities like General Yakubu Gowon (former Head of State) to do commissioning of projects. I remember that General Gowon commissioned 27 roads that Oshiomhole tarred with drainage and street lights in the area that General Ogbemudia used to live. He knows. What he has succeeded in doing is to bring is to bring the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, here twice to come and do ground breaking. After ground breaking is there no ground commissioning? No project to show after three years in government. Nothing so ever. All we hear are promises upon promises, MoUs upon MoUs. How can a governor that has that has the love of his people come out to say he has created 150,000 jobs? That’s deception at its highest. You and I know that apart from his uniformed thugs there is no other job created.
Most of the schools are there without teachers. I was informed recently that in the whole of Edo State we don’t have up to 10 Chemistry teachers. How are we going to produce scientists of the future when there are no teachers to teach our children Chemistry? He claimed to have spent N1.5million training one teacher in this state. During the training the teachers were not lodged in hotels they were sleeping on the bare floor. How much does it cost to train teachers in the developed countries? This is a government of secrecy. This is a government of pure fraud. Fraud incorporated. A government that everything is opaque.
How Edo State lost N2b to farm scam
A government that lost N2billion. We have documents to prove this. N2billion was lost to the Sobe Farm scam. He brought friends from outside the state. He gave them money to go and farm in Sobe. The farm did not produce N10,000 grain. Unfortunately, this N2billion was part of a N5billion loan from Central Bank. I challenge Godwin Obaseki to tell Edo people how the N5billion agriculture loan received from the Central Bank was spent. Let him publish it in the newspapers if he can. The money has been embezzled. We know the junior officials he connived with to embezzle that money. The agriculture revolution that he promised, where is it? I am sure you are aware that ship are already berthing in Gelegele Seaport. The industrial park in Ologbo go there. Hunters are now hunting antelopes and grasscutters there. So, where is the project? He has nothing. The Alaghodaro which we now christened Alawiyeke; backward movement. It is just a jamboree. A conduit for siphoning the state resources. Yesterday(Sunday, November 10) they held a Thanksgiving service. After the service they gave all the bishops and pastors that came to pray N50,000 each in an envelope. But go to government books. I am sure that N200million would have been spent for the Thanksgiving service yesterday. I challenge them. Anybody who was there as a pastor yesterday to preach if he got more than N50,000 should come out to say Idahagbon is lying because we have friends amongst them. All they got was N50,000. Let us see their books and see how much they would record there.
Edo never had it so bad
My brother, we have never had it so bad in the history of our state since we started this democratic period in 1999. Before now, people used to think that Lucky Igbinedion government wasn’t good. Compare to this one, Lucky Igbinedion’s government is commendable. Until you marry a second wife you will not know how good your first wife is. Lucky Igbinedion’s government had a human face. He had respect for politicians. He had respect for people who are not even politicians. He didn’t lock everybody out. He was very receptive in his office, house and guest house. He was a listening governor. For all those who thought that we were at our lowest ebb with his government, no. His government can only rank now may be after Oshiomhole’s own. This is the lowest that we have ever gone as a people in terms of a governor and governance in Edo State.
Charles Idahosa is ‘I am available for sale’ politician
Charles Idahosa is a stomach infrastructure politician. He is ‘I am available for sale’ politician. He is the first politician in Edo State to start fighting Obaseki. His media interviews are there. He was so frustrated at a time he even resigned from state politics and he said he was going to restrict himself to national politics. But when in December last year he was visited with stomach infrastructure he made a radical u-turn. Now he has become the cheerleader of Obaseki. He should not be taken seriously. No right thinking Edo person will take Charles Idahosa seriously as a politician. As a person I have tremendous respect for him. He is our senior brother. However, as a politician, no. He should be discountenanced. After making those videos of granting interviews of course he would be given Ghana Must Go of at least N2million. I don’t think we should spend our time on what he said or did not say. I don’t think so.
APC must apologise to Edo people
The state chapter of the APC will have to apologise to Edo people and may be I should start with the apology. We have to apologise to Edo people that we got it wrong with Obaseki. We thought that we were voting for a person that will continue with the progressive governance that was established by Oshiomhole. Oshiomhole and his deputy, Pius Odubu, were apostles of developmental politics. We thought we were going to continue with it. Tell me one policy of Oshiomhole today that this government has continued with. There is none. Central Hospital – it took him three years… He was part and parcel of the exco that approved that Central Hospital, both the construction and equipment. It took him three years to get an Igboman to come and be the privatised owner of the hospital. For three years the place was allowed to lie fallow under the flimsy excuse that the roof was leaking. That hospital after the initial construction was completed by a very competent contracting firm that built all the structures in Edo University, Iyamho which is one of the best state government owned university in this country today. Is it the storm water project? Edo State has become ‘wake and flood’. People wake up and see flood taking over their houses. My father’s house was overtaken by flood by one of the heavy rainfalls of two weeks ago. So are many other houses. Is it the red roof revolution? How many schools has he renovated since he became governor? None.
During anniversaries Oshiomhole used to make huge brochures of all the projects he has done. Have you seen any brochure from Obaseki government? We as a party we must apologise to Edo people that we got it wrong. We must ask for their forgiveness and ask them to give us a fresh opportunity to right the wrong that this government has become. That’s the only option available to us because they had expected a high level of performance but this is a government of lies.
Obaseki and his unfulfilled promises
150,000 jobs? Where are they? Publish their names and where they are working. They made heavy weather of agropreneur. You collected N5billion from Central Bank you pocketed the money. Where is the agropreneur product? Every time they have event they will do agriculture fair. Go and buy yam from the markets and exhibit it.
I saw in pictures some weeks ago our state government is buying tricycle ambulances. It is unfortunate that we have descended to that level. What stops you from buying a Toyota bus as an ambulance? A tricycle over the excuse that we will use them in the rural areas. Can the bus not be driven in rural areas? What is the maximum speed of a tricycle if you have to rush somebody in emergency to the nearby hospital? He promised of building one health centre per ward. He has not built one. He promised of building sports facility or stadium, one per local government area. He has not built one. I challenge him to tell us the contractor and cost of renovating the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. The stadium was renovated by Lucky Igbinedion government just a few years ago. That time I am not sure it cost N400million. We are told now that the stadium is going to cost N6billion. How much does it cost to build a national stadium the type that we have in Abuja? Who is the contractor handling the renovation work at the Ogbemudia Stadium? He is from Delta State.
You have two governors in Delta State. Godwin Obaseki is actually the governor of Delta State. You have two governors in Delta State. We don’t have a governor in Edo State.
Obaseki’s Personal Assistant is defacto deputy governor
Obaseki’s Personal Assistant (PA) cum deputy governor of the state, Tijani Nwadei (TJ) is more influential than Philip Shaibu. Forget all the gragra Shaibu did in Iyamho like the president of okada riders association. The defacto deputy governor of Edo State is TJ. He is from Delta State.
