Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has sworn-in the newly elected chairmen of the 18 local government areas in the state on Monday.
Recall that the 18 Council chairmen of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) extraction were elected last Saturday.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony, Obaseki said that his administration would create alternate roads since the federal government could not fix its roads in Edo to ensure smooth movement of goods and services across the state.
He, however, said the roads, if constructed, would be barricaded and restricted, even as he called for the cooperation of the new chairmen to achieve the project
Obaseki also urged the local government chairmen to focus on the environment and sanitation, as he said that was an area he had not been happy about in the performance of his administration.
According to the governor, “Today (Monday), we are in a crisis in our country. What is hurting Edo the most is the advantage we have in terms of our location of being at the core of the country and therefore being connected with a lot of roads owned by the federal government.
‘The federal government, as you know today, cannot manage itself, not to mention rebuilding its roads, so it could take a while, if ever, for them to be able to build those roads.
“We fortunately have other connections, so our priority with you should be to design and work with the state government to build alternative state roads. Infrastructure is important.
“We should be able to move our people with their goods and their services so that we can have development, and when we build those roads, they will be barricaded and restricted for use.”
On sanitation, the governor said, “The other area in which we will need to collaborate with you is in the area of the environment and sanitation.
“We’ve done so much in the last 6, 7, and 8 years, but one area I am not proud of is in terms of our sanitation and environment.”
