• Don’t fight Obaseki, APC tells Okpebholo
• Ugolor advises gov to share experience with successor

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said his government, over the past eight years, took deliberate steps to improve land administration and sanitised the built environment sector to sustain investors’ confidence, as part of efforts to drive sustainable growth, progress and prosperity in the state.

He stated this, yesterday, when, along with former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom Ikimi, and other dignitaries, he commissioned the Edo Built Environment Hub.

This is as the All Progressives Congress (APC) advised the governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, to focus on governance and shun any quarrel with outgoing Governor Obaseki.

However, human rights activist and environmentalist, Rev David Ugolor, appealed to Obaseki to share his experiences in governance with the governor-elect and his team, as well as the generality of the Edo people, to help build trust and encourage the next leader to approach governance with a clearer understanding of the state’s needs.

The new building houses the Ministry of Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development; Edo Geographic Information Service (EdoGIS); the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, and the Edo State Public Building and Maintenance Agency.

Obaseki, who shared the story of how his land with a Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) was reallocated and resold by land-grabbers, said his government sanitised the built sector and guaranteed security of lives and property, repositioning the state as one of the best places to live and do business in the country.

At the event, the governor immortalised Nigeria’s first Surveyor General, the late Daniel Omoigui, naming the EdoGIS building after him.

APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, in his appeal to Okpebholo, when the former lawmaker led a delegation of Edo APC to the party secretariat in Abuja on a ‘thank you’ visit, warned that a progressive government should not waste time engaging in unnecessary fights with its predecessor. He, therefore, encouraged the governor-elect to, instead, focus on delivering the promises he made to the people in the manifesto he painstakingly campaigned with.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the senator winner of the governorship poll. But in the past month, Okpebholo had been at loggerheads with the state government, whose officials he has repeatedly accused of embarking on a looting spree.

Ugolor, who is the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), in an open letter to Obaseki, pointed out that the governor’s tenure had been marked by achievements and challenges, urging him to share with Edo people what went right and what went wrong. According to him, the people and the incoming administration will learn from such experiences.

The letter reads: “Being transparent about what went right and what went wrong during your administration will serve as an important lesson for the next governor and his team. It will not only help them navigate the complexities of governance but will also foster a culture of accountability and honesty within our political landscape.”