Edo State Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Architect Joshua Omokhodion, has described the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, as the best thing to have happened to the state.
He made the description during a tete a tete he had with some media executives in his office situated inside the ultramodern state secretariat complex situated along Sapele Road, Benin City.
On the level of work being put in place by some of the local government councils, ministries, departments and government agencies, Architect Omokhodion said: “What you must be doing must be things that people can take ownership of because ultimately you are doing it for the people.
“Governance is not what you see from the top to the bottom. It should be from the bottom to the top and that’s the only way you can ensure that the people can buy into whatever activity that you are carrying out and to that extent the ownership of everything we do should be domiciled in the citizens of the state. That’s exactly what has happened.”
On the state government’s efforts to beautify the metropolis, Architect Omokhodion stated: “I can tell you in clear terms that I am privileged to have a governor that knows his onions. What the governor has done now is to create parks and gardens.
“Beyond just beautification they’re also part of the process of recreation because beautification to a large extent is seemingly visual but recreation is physical, something that you can participate in. That’s what Mr. Governor has done. As I speak with you the governor has awarded nine parks to be completed within Benin City.
“At least about five have started construction. The other two are hindered slightly because of some issues of acquisition which we are almost tidying up. I can tell you before Mr. Governor leaves office in November those parks will be functional. The parks currently under construction are at Airport Road, Dumez Park, Gapiona Landscape, Iguosa Landscape and Aurora Landscape. Work is ongoing and they’re asking for approval for additional jobs.
“Mr. Godwin Obaseki is not the noisy type. He is not the type that will spend one million naira(N1,000,000) and use ten million naira(N10,000,000) to propagate.”
Going further, he asserted: “That’s why he is called Mr. Wake and See. You wake up and you see it. You will not be hearing about it. You will just wake up and see it. I think Edo State is blessed for the kind of governor that we have currently.
“Working with him for the past months I realise that for those of us that have the interest of the state at heart we realize that the best that has happened to us is Mr. Godwin Obaseki. It is not because I am his commissioner. It’s because of what I have seen and what I am still seeing.”
