Edo secures N5.7bn World Bank facility to fight erosion
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Governor Adams Oshiomhole of
Edo State says the state Government has secured a N5.7 billion facility from
the World Bank to tackle the erosion problem at Auchi, Etsako West Local
Government Area of the State.
The Governor said the
facility was secured by the government after the state was abandoned to its
fate by the Federal Government which refused to release funds to the state from
the Ecological Fund to address erosion problems in many parts of the state.
Speaking at the commissioning
of the Auchi-Jattu-Afashio-Ikabigbo-Ojio road on Thursday, Oshiomhole said,
“Erosion has been a problem that has been threatening the existence of Auchi as
a community. Not only has erosion destroyed the farmlands, erosion has
also destroyed a number of roads and even killed a number of our people.
“A series of petitions have
been written to the Federal Government for intervention. I know on an occasion
the Royal Highness, the Otaru of Auchi, decided to lead the Auchi community on a
protest march and he demonstrated around this area hoping that somebody would listen.
“There was an attempt to
address the erosion problem but whereas the people of Auchi wanted a solution,
somebody wanted to monetize the problem. They gave the job to a contractor who
knows next to nothing and he brought a tractor which he himself could not
reclaim from the valleys of the erosion
“I am happy to announce to your
Royal Highness that we have redesigned and carried out a thorough study of the
Auchi erosion challenge. We got internationally-recognized consultants to carry
out the study and they have come up with a design which will provide a lasting
solution to the problem of flooding in Auchi and on the basis of this study, we
have forwarded it to Washington for them to look at it and to confirm if the
design is appropriate.”
Oshiomhole said, “We have done our estimate and carried out a bill of engineering measurement. We advertised the project on the basis of those designs, contractors have bidded and rather than giving this thing to Adams Nigeria Limited as some other people would have done, we have awarded the contract to a competent company, Setraco Nigeria Limited.
Oshiomhole said, “We have done our estimate and carried out a bill of engineering measurement. We advertised the project on the basis of those designs, contractors have bidded and rather than giving this thing to Adams Nigeria Limited as some other people would have done, we have awarded the contract to a competent company, Setraco Nigeria Limited.
“We have forwarded the
results of these reports to Washington. You may ask why Washington? It is because
we didn’t have any Federal help from the ecological funds but we are determined
that the poverty of our pockets can be overcome with the resourcefulness of our
brains. We have secured facilities of N5.7 billion to address the problem of
Auchi erosion.
“Just last night, the World
Bank wrote that our design has been given approval, it is acceptable and they
have granted us a loan to address the erosion problem at Auchi.”
Speaking on the roads being
commissioned, Oshiomhole said, “What we have tried to demonstrate is that the
people are entitled to even development. Every part of Nigeria is entitled to
benefit from development. I hold the view that when we derogatorily refer to
people in rural areas, we do so as if the fact of their rural location makes
them inferior relative to those who live in the urban sector.
“I hold the view that
government should not adapt to different specifications in construction of
projects whether these are roads or schools or hospitals, government must
ensure that the same specifications that prevail in projects located in state
capitals are used in projects in local government areas. For me the forgotten
majority of men and women do not live in the state capital. The real Nigerians
on whose behalf public fund is spent live in places you call hamlets.
“I am therefore proud to say that these dual
carriage way of Auchi-Jattu-Afashio-Ikabigbo-Ojio roads have the same specifications as the
roads that are constructed in the heart of Benin City and we will therefore ask
our young people not to troop to Benin as they can see here the facilities we
see in Benin. We insist that we can’t build roads without drainage. We insist
that when we construct roads, they are meant to last and that is why in
building this road, we didn’t only expand it, we ensure that on both sides of
the road, we have sidewalks that are not less than two meters wide each and
beneath that sidewalks, we have drainage.
Commissioning the road, the
Sultan of Sokoto, His eminence Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III commended the governor
for his laudable achievements.
He said “The purpose of any
leader is to see to the welfare of his people. We must continue to live
together as one. Whether you are a Christian or Muslim or you do not have a
religion at all, we must live together. When God Almighty decided to bring us
to this world speaking different religion and dialects, we should not allow
ourselves to be divided by religion or social status.”
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