As the eight years of two tenures as Governor of Edo State comes to an end on November 12, 2024, Godwin Obaseki has said that he is fulfilled with the achievements of his administration.
The governor gave himself a pat on the back at the commissioning of the rehabilitated Benin Technical College on Tuesday in Benin City.
Obaseki, in his address, said he came, saw and did his best as the governor of the state in the last eight years.
“This afternoon, I am so glad that a week to the exit in my office, I can come here and see a rebuilt Benin Technical College. A college that is now giving hope to hundreds if not thousands of young boys and girls.
“I say What greater glory or gift can you ask from God?. I am leaving office very very satisfied and happy. That I came to this school, I saw the state of this college and I did my best.”
The outgoing governor said the rebuilding of the college was part of his electioneering promises to create 200,000 jobs for the young boys and girls in the state to stem the tide of human trafficking and irregular migration among the youths.
“When I became governor of the state in 2016, we in Edo were facing existential threat. Our children did not want to go to school. At that point they said school is scam. People invaded our communities offering them all sort of things and taken them out of this country.
“So the rate of human trafficking and irregular migration was scaring for me, when I saw the data that over 30,000 Edo boys and girls were in Libya trying to cross to overseas. You can image how many dies on their way there
“When I was campaigning in 2016, I then promised that I will restore hope, a promised which politicians don’t normally do. I said by the time I finished my tenure I would have created over 200,000 jobs. I put a number to it. And by the grace of God, today, I think we have far far exceeded that number.
“But I said how are we going to create these jobs not through government and not through the civil service. It is by ensuring that we gives skills, training to these young boys and girls. Who just wanted hope and opportunity in life.
“So, when I resumed office in November 12, 2016, one of the first places I visited was this Technical College because if I am going to create 200,000 jobs and more, then where are the institutions that I can train these people so that they can get these jobs. This school was one of them.
“So, I made a commitment that day that restoring this school and renovation would be my first priority,” he added.
In his remarks before commissioning the rehabilitated Technical College, Peter Mbah, the governor of Enugu State, commended Obaseki for all his developmental strides in the state, particularly the repositioning of the education sector and the civil service reforms.
Mbah added that the vision of the governor inspired the Edobest Initiative that has made the state a reference point in basic education reforms in the country.
He, however, urged subsequent governments not only to sustain the laudable projects of the outgoing governor but to build on them.
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