Celebrating Fraud In Edo State

The feedback from Mr. Tony Iyare, the special adviser (media) to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, concerning my recent write-up entitled “The Binis And Dirty Propaganda” was expected. I stated in that write-up that my friends who work with the comrade governor as spin doctors would play dirty after reading the piece. And they did just that in an article entitled “Edo: Dirty Tale Of An Ethnic Jingoist”, with a pseudo by-line Samson Ehiakhame

But the real author of that rejoinder is my very good friend and former comrade with extreme view on issues that bother on corruption, Mr. Tony Iyare, who left the real issues that I raised in my earlier piece and chose to attack my person. He claimed I acted on behalf of “my paymaster”, the Edo State PDP gubernatorial candidate, General Charles Airhiabvere. But, as a journalist of nearly two decades of experience with reputable media houses, I am used to such allegation.
For sure, Iyare’s strategy can be located in the Latin term ad hominem, which means “against the man”. He chooses to assail my person rather than the issue. His assumption in such a fallacy and erroneous belief is that if I prove to be unacceptable in some way, my statement or argument must also be judged unacceptable. For those much schooled in elements of argument like my friend, Iyare, attacking the author of the statement is an effective strategy of diversion that prevents the reader from giving attention to the issue under discussion.
Beyond Iyare’s folly, I thought he should have known me better. We have been friends for over 20 years; as journalists and pro-media rights activists, we have worked closely in the last 18 years. The very ideological Iyare and I have voluntarily worked closely in many non-governmental organisations: the Civil Liberties Organisation (I was the Lagos State chairman of the organisation for three years), the Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Union Of Journalists and, Journalists for Democratic Rights, which we jointly founded along with some respected journalists at the peak of the military dictatorship of the late General Sani Abacha, and other various organisations. And I am sure Iyare cannot actually face me and repeat the accusation he levelled against me in his rejoinder to my article.
Anyway, I sympathise with him; I am sure he was under suffocating pressure from his boss whom I know too well does not entertain any kind of criticism.
But, let us face the real issue in Edo State today: It is about lack of equitable distribution of our common wealth, transparency, accountability and all other elements of good governance, which Iyare and his collaborators do not want to hear. I share the current popular belief in Edo State with grave concern that nowhere in the last two budgets was the ongoing “reckless, prodigal and on-the-spur-of-the-moment spending” by Oshiomhole captured, even though some of his supporters have said the money came from security vote. But if these colossal sums of money being illegally wasted on securing political support came from his huge security vote, which the governor had claimed till date, then, we can understand why he admitted recently that the security challenges facing the state were very tasking.
Apart from that, as an acclaimed ambassador of the labour and pro-democracy groups in government, Governor Oshiomhole ought to know that the issue concerning his current “ridiculous, meaningless and reckless spending” that is rubbishing good governance, accountability and probity in Edo State will crop up after his tenure. And, when the time comes, I doubt if his present praise-singers and some dubious local traditional rulers, who are being induced to endorse his second-term bid will defend him.
Some naive members of the public who hugely rely on media bliss and grimy propaganda in assessing Oshiomhole might not agree, but the truth is that many of those people currently praising the comrade governor cannot really boast of or identify completed and commissioned projects in their domain in the three and a half years of Oshiomhole as governor. I was at home during the last Easter holiday and I moved round virtually all the local government areas in Edo South, but I did not see any project which the governor’s spin doctors are celebrating on the pages of newspapers and television stations. Save Oredo and Etsako West LGAs in the state, which have small pockets of completed and commissioned road projects with questionable and open-to-discussion cost, none of the other 16 LGAs has any completed and commissioned road project.
 In fact, going by Governor Oshiomhole administration’s claim in its report of stewardship during third anniversary celebration, Oredo LGAs with the largest road network - of over 1,000 roads begging for attention has only 8.2-kilometre rehabilitated roads in the past three and a half years at a total cost of  N6 billion. Mind you, the key word here is “rehabilitated”, not “constructed” roads. These include: Sapele Road, Oba Market Road, 2nd West Circular Road, Costain/Isonorho, Abehe, Ebo, Ekpenede, Iwebo Roads, Liberty Avenue and Stadium roads, all in Benin City. Oba Market Road and Sapele Road that are mere 0.75km and 2.10km respectively, according to Oshiomhole, were rehabilitated for N2 billion and N1.5 billion respectively. Imagine rehabilitating a less than 3-kilometre road by local contractors with N3.5 billion! How much does Julius Berger charge per kilometre of road construction? According to Julius Berger specification, a kilometre of dual road in a difficult terrain like Bayelsa State goes for about N120 million. But in Oshiomhole’s case, a kilometre of road is “rehabilitated” for about N750 million.
In Etsako West, which is Governor Oshiomhole’s LGAs of origin, only three narrow road projects totalling 15.3k, the highest in the state, have been completed in three and a half years at a total cost of N5.909 billion. These roads are Jattu-Ayua Road (4.40km), at a cost of N2.812 billion; Jattu-Ibie Road (4.4km), at a cost of N2.380 billion; and Iyamho-Iyora Road (5.5km) at a cost of N3.717 billion.  From his report card, during his third anniversary, Governor Oshiomhole in the past three years only succeeded in completing and commissioning 23.5km-road projects in the entire state at a total questionable cost of about N12.909 billion. The governor had also stated that all the 35 awarded road projects (completed and ongoing) in the state in the last three years, totally 489.2kilometres, are estimated to cost the state over N100 billion. This amount excludes costs for the Oba Market Road, Airport Road and Sokpoba Road walkway projects, which are still shrouded in secrecy.
From the contract agreement paper signed by the Edo State government and the contractors handling the contracts, 80% of the 35 awarded road contracts are less than 10km in length. The huge amount for the controversial contracts was taken from over N275 billion which the state had received from the federation account as statutory allocation coupled with billions of naira internally generated revenue in the past three years. I am told the governor had borrowed over N30 billion in the last three years; and, just a few days ago, Mr. Iyare issued a press statement celebrating another borrowing of $75 million from the World Bank.
These are my concerns and that of many Edolites who are very familiar with the huge mismanagement of their common wealth by the present state government. And I challenge my friend, Mr. Iyare, to address these issues. I do not have a personal problem with Oshiomhole; but I am concerned and worried about the future of my state and the aspiration of other pro-democracy activists who might want to go into partisan politics in the future. The electorate may not be able to distinguish us from the known traditional politicians.
Beyond the deceitful political manipulation going on currently in the state, the July governorship election will not be about the PDP and the ACN; it will be about the character and credentials of the candidates; it will be about those who can be entrusted with our common wealth. Like I have repeatedly said in this column, democracy is not about construction and beautification of roads. After all, the best and lasting roads in the old Bendel State (now Delta and Edo states) were constructed under the General Samuel Ogbemudia-led military government. Democracy is about accountability, transparency, probity, rule of law, due process, judicious use of state funds and other elements of good governance. On this, the comrade governor has not done well.