By Crusoe Osagie
Once again, I feel obligated to respond to the cocktail of lies being spun by the Edo State Government, this time through Kassim Afegbua, the Commissioner for Information, who appears to have suddenly woken up from his elongated hiatus since his appointment.
The most recent concocted controversy is the Radisson Hotel Project, initiated and implemented through the deployment of the deft financial skill of His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the immediate past Governor of the State.
Before we go into the details of the matter, it is important to place on record that this charade has become a predictable pattern deployed by this government since it took office over a year ago, clearly to deflect the attention of Edo people from the obvious fact that the government has no development plan for the people of the State.
First was it N30bn Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA)
Then the 95MW Ossiomo Power Project
Next came the onslaught against the Saro Farms and Ethanol plant, in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area
They also crippled the Edo Printing Centre at the premises of the Nigerian Observer along Airport Road.
Then came the attack on Presco, which they quickly backed off from after the blowback.
And now, the latest target is the Radisson Hotel Project.
In all of these attacks, it is nothing but the politics of distraction in order to wind down the first four years of their administration, for which they do not have any plan for the people of the State.
To the issue raised around the Radisson Project: for the umpteenth time, Obaseki has explained that the project was initiated by his government as a segment of the larger plan for the tourism sector, which included other projects like MOWAA, the yet-to-be-kicked-off Benin Royal Museum, and the support for the National Museum at Ring Road, among others.
And as any innovative government should do, the Edo State Government injected the initial funds to make the investment attractive and eventually passed it on to a private investor at a value multiple times the amount the government had invested in it, with the new investor taking over the full assets and liabilities of the project, while still reserving 20 percent equity of the business for the State Government.
In the search for a reason to destroy this laudable investment initiative, Okpebholo has taken the Radisson Project to the EFCC and has also gone to court in an endless rat chase to undermine the project. All of these efforts have proven futile, and having failed woefully to create a distraction where there is none, they have now resorted to propaganda as a form of media trial on the matter.
Like I wrote in a recent piece titled, “Okpebholo’s attack on Benin-speaking Edo South leaves economic carcasses on his trail,” Okpebholo and his ilk appear resolute in their plan to cripple these best-in-class investments, all of which, curiously, are in the Benin-speaking Edo South senatorial district.
But for their onslaught against these investments, which are designed to directly and indirectly absorb not less than 50,000 employees, apart from the manifold economic value chains they were intended to create, they have effectively stalled these businesses, which, by all intents, would have been operational one year after the Obaseki administration.
We are calling on Okpebholo and his ilk, with all that they hold dear, to cut this steeplechase and end their onslaught against Edo State and, in particular, the Benin-speaking Edo South. As it is my well-considered opinion that if these five-star projects were located in Iyamho, Auchi, or even Irrua, I doubt they would have come under such vicious and irresponsible attacks from the Okpebholo government.
They must be reminded that their irresponsible and reckless actions constitute a direct assault on the sensibilities and sensitivities of private-sector investors and at the very least, will further discourage investors from coming into the State, and in many cases, could even force those already operating in the State to seek alternative locations for their businesses.
We urge them to spare the people of Edo this distraction. The Radisson Hotel project was clean and carried out in the best interest of the people. It is also important to restate that Obaseki has neither a direct nor an indirect stake or ownership in the project.
To conclude, we urge the people of Edo to disregard the lies, not be distracted, remain focused, and hold Okpebholo accountable for his responsibilities to Edo people, which include protecting their lives and property, and creating opportunities for them to live life to the fullest.
Edo people must ask Okpebholo how this barrage of attacks on investments in the State translates into jobs and tangible benefits for the teeming youth population of the State, many of whom are seeking opportunities to work, earn a living, and build careers.
*_Osagie is the Media Adviser to former Governor Godwin Obaseki_*
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