Fashola puts Oshiomhole under pressure- By Fidelis Soriwei, Benin

Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, is under pressure to equal the pace set in Lagos by the Action Congress government headed by Babatunde Fashola, SAN, and also meet the expectations of the Edo electorate.

Oshiomhole‘s emergence as the governor of the state under the platform of the Action Congress and his antecedent as an acceptable labour leader leave him with an unprecedented burden of performance.

As a former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress who was coming with a bag of exploits to preside over the affairs of Edo State that had suffered an overdose of developmental neglect, so much goodwill was available for the unionist. The anxiety and quest of the people to have a real feel of democratic governance was further heightened by the lavish promises that the famous unionist had made he became governor in November last year.

On assuming the mantle of leadership in the state, which many have described as one screaming metaphor for governmental failure in the country in recent time, he had said, and with so much passion and zeal too, that his administration was determined to wrestle the state from the talons of infrastructural rot and underdevelopment. Expectedly, the people of Edo State did not only believe the promises of the governor, who as a labour leader displayed so much courage and determination to stand up against some of the harsh policies of the Olusegun Obasanjo Administration.

But the long period of celebrations and victory dance that followed his spectacular triumph at the Court of Appeal over the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2007 governorship election in Edo State, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, have ended.

The people have waited earnestly for six months for the man who opted to be addressed as the ‘Comrade Governor‘ to start the process of development in the state. Perhaps, the people are anxious to live in a state capital where the positive expectations from the rain in most human setups would not result in a gnawing discomfort and agony due to poor or non-existent drainage facilities, failed roads, flooding and erosion.

Curiously, events in the past six months seem to suggest that Oshiomhole would need more than pronouncements nomatter how genuine to make the expected difference in Edo. There are serious indications that the administration has run into some major challenges in its desire to make at least a statement of development to the long deprived people of the state. It is a fact that the governor and his administration are locked in a contest with an array of unfriendly factors, which if not handled decisively could add his name to the long list of governors who forgot their campaign promises to the electorate.

While signing the 2009 Appropriation Bill that was twice passed by the House of Assembly into law last month, Oshiomhole had raised serious concerns about the alarming reduction of the revenue accruable to the state from the Federation Account. According to the governor, revenue allocation to the state has maintained a steep drop from N3.5billion in August 2008 when Osunbor was in power to N1.8billion in March this year following the sharp drop in the price of crude oil in the international market. He disclosed that revenue allocation to the state in November when he took over government dropped to N1.9billion out of which the administration spent about N1.7billion to pay workers‘ salaries and pension, leaving only N200million to run the affairs of the state.

In the face of the dire economic consequences of the sharp drop in the state‘s finances, Oshiomhole took the decision to look inwards with a view to breaking free from trap of failure. He found a lifeline in the creative generation of internal revenue by setting an IGR target of N1.5billion per month for himself. Unfortunately, the decision has since brought him and his administration on a collision course with the workers‘ unions in the state. A good number of those who resisted the newly introduced tax regime in Edo found it irksome that rather than taking steps to mitigate the effect of the economic crisis on its citizenry, the government was engrossed in taking steps that could further aggravate the worsening economic plight of the people.

Such bodies like the Nigeria Medical Association, Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria, National Union of Local Government Employees and the Ambrose Ali University chapter of ASUU and others were also alarmed that the government‘s decision was not preceded by consultations with the appropriate bodies. The unions also agitated against the increase in the new rates and charges announced by the government, which they said was more than 1500 percent increase. Although, the government has held discussions with the protesting bodies on the issue of the new rates and taxes generally, inadequate information and education of the citizenry by the government, seem to have foisted on the governor an image of a task master without feelings for the people.

But Oshiomhole has made up his mind on the issue of taxation as the inevitable alternative to shore up the state‘s dwindling revenue. While speaking with journalists last month, the governor said his administration was not prepared to accept the option of paying salaries without taking necessary steps to reward the Edo people through the provision of infrastructural facilities in the state.

The governor has said repeatedly that his administration has a lot to learn from his counterpart in Lagos, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, stressing that he was determined to ensure a creative and judicious utilisation of the IGR in the overall interest of the people.

Yet, beyond the shortfall in revenue to run Edo, Oshiomhole has other contending problems. Even key officials in his government are wont to agree that the governor‘s popularity has dipped in recent time. As a friend of the market women, traders and commercial motorcycle riders and indeed the electorate, some of the government‘s decisions on environmental sanitation have dislocated these people whose trust in the former labour leader has been jolted. No week passes without a group of protesters converging on the gate of the Government House in the Benin GRA to lodge one complaint or the other. For example the thousands who defied the odds to cast their votes for him cannot understand why their makeshift stalls serving as their sources of livelihood are being removed from the roadsides.

Ironically, in spite of the critical demand for performance and high expectations that followed the signing of the N74billion budget, Oshiomhole‘s most immediate challenge is not development. He is presiding over the affairs of a state under siege.

It is incontrovertible that since he took over power, the crime profile in the state has increased in an alarming rate. Apart from the scourge of armed robbery highlighted even by the killing of policemen by the hoodlums, crime has assumed a new dimension in Benin and other towns in Edo State. Investigation conducted by our correspondent revealed that not less than 35 people were killed during the recent cult war in Benin.

More disturbing, is the increasing incident of kidnapping for ransom which has kept the governor and the top echelon of the security agencies on their toes. In the past two months, not less than 15 people have been kidnapped by various gangs operating in the state, out which two very prominent private investors and employers of labour were murdered.

The kidnappers, some of whom, are now in the police net killed the multi-millionaire proprietor of ‘God is Good Motors‘, Mr. Edwin Ajaere and the Managing Director of the flourishing Alpha Furniture Company, reputed to be the biggest in Benin, Osazee Evbuomwan, after fleecing their families of millions of naira. Aside from these two, the list of victims of abduction is growing by the day even as the police battle to restore some likeness of sanity in the society. No doubt, the increasing incidents of abductions have had serious implications on the economy of the state. Investigations reveal that several prominent indigenes of Edo, especially those in the transport sector are relocating from the state capital. The situation, it was learnt, is not different among those in government circles whose family members have become targets to the criminal gangs on the prowl.

However, Oshiomhole says he is not unaware of the grave implications of allowing governmental inertia and giving only excuses. He is also conscious of the fact that as a governor who must deliver with or without money, his time has started counting. Already, a good number of people are becoming impatient with his government and are demanding the immediate commencement of some practical steps that will impact positively on the populace. And the former labour leader still maintains his promise to recreate some of the feats accomplished by his party member in Lagos in his famished Edo State.

”Yes, we are not hiding the fact that there is a lot to learn from Lagos . We are very proud of what Lagos has achieved and what is happening, the reactions in Lagos. When (Bola) Tinubu started in 1999, Lagos‘ internal revenue was only N600million and he couldn‘t even pay salaries. Today, from that N600m, it has come to about N17billion every month. That is an increase of about 2,000 or 3,000 percent. That tells you the rate of increase in the taxes that people are paying. Manufacturers went to court and all kinds of people demonstrated, but they remained firm.

”Today, with the resources they are generating, the evidence is on the ground to show what Tinubu and now Fashola is doing with the money. Is anybody complaining now? A few will still complain, a few still try to cut corners.

The evidence you see on ground is as a result of taxes. If there is no tax, you will just be lamenting. Are you going to pluck money from the sky to develop the state? What we offer is that when we collect the tax, it will be used judiciously for the people to see,” Oshiomhole said.