Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, says his three-year-old government has so far created 157,000 jobs out of the 200,000 he promised the state.
The governor said this at the 2019 Alaghodaro Youth Summit in Benin on Monday as part of activities to celebrate Alaghodaro (Progress) 2019, which marks the governor’s third year in office.
According to Mr Obaseki he did what most politicians would not do by setting a target for job creation.
“I have done what many politicians will not do; during my campaign, I promised to create a minimum 200,000 jobs within my first term, through the Edo Skills Development Agency (Edojobs),” he said.
“Politicians won’t give themselves such targets in case they don’t meet it. If government gives the youths the needed support, you will see that 200,000 jobs will be a piece of cake.
“Today, I am glad and happy that at the last count, we have created 157,000 jobs in Edo.”
Obaseki said the figures were developed by Business Day newspaper following an independent evaluation.
“They undertook an independent evaluation and told me that the skills development agency was able to create 45, 000 through job tracking,” he said.
“From the records, 3,500 jobs were created through jobs matching and placement, 23,000 jobs through Edo Innovation Jobs, 1,300 jobs from Edo food and agriculture cluster, and 15,000 jobs from Edo Production Centre.
“We have also created 12,000 jobs from the National Social Investment Programme, 10,000 from the Ministry of Wealth Creation, and 32,000 indirect jobs. The data is all there and you can verify them.”
The Edo State Governor also said at another forum he is ready to pay the ultimate price in the service of the people of the state. He said as long as the mandate of the governor was given to him by God for the service of the people, the state was worth dying for.
Obaseki said this at an interdenominational church service organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria, “People ask, is Edo worth dying for? I say yes, Edo is worth dying for. And if we have to die for the service of Edo State, so be it. But I am sure God will not let it happen that way.”
He thanked members of the All Progressives Congress for their support through his three years in office.”
The governor commended the APC leaders from the 18 local government areas for supporting his second term bid, noting, “They have thrown their weight behind me and urged me to continue the good works in the state, assuring me of their commitment and support.”
He attributed the success recorded by his administration in the past three years to God, adding that the strides recorded are clear for all to see, as they are evident in the developments across the state.
Obaseki said, “My first challenge as a governor was to correct the image of Edo State in terms of human trafficking.
“Our women had lost their pride and respect globally. We didn’t live in denial but agreed to tackle the scourge and fought it headlong. Today, we have a good story to tell.
“As a government, we showed our commitment to God and the people and it made Edo people trust our administration.”
The governor commended the first civilian governor of the state, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, for speaking truth to power and not supporting injustice.
He expressed appreciation to the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, for the fatherly role he played in helping his administration achieve many feats in the state.
