By Lucky Isibor
The Edo State Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has charged engineers in the state to maintain a high level of professionalism and ethical conduct in the discharge of their duties and deploy their expertise in ensuring enduring infrastructure to support development of the state.
The Governor who gave the charge at an interactive session with the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), in Benin City, called for increased partnership with the indigenous engineers to achieve his administration’s vision of making Edo State the industrial hub of the nation.
“There is so much work for you people to do as we are redesigning Edo. We do not have any master plan for anything; hence, anybody can build anywhere. The plan we had has expired and our population has outgrown what we designed as our physical space,” Obaseki said.
He noted: “Whether it is in housing, road construction or electricity, we need help. That is why we must never again allow those who do not have any idea about development to govern us again.
“If you critically analyse the situation we are in right now, a simple agenda cannot take us out of it, and we should not even think about it. God has brought me to chart a new path for Edo’s development; let us follow that path.”
Obaseki maintained that he is always impressed when he sees a lot of Nigerian engineers working with government contractors on projects.
“Today, our people are coming back to invest because we have created the enabling environment. The only way I could create that enabling environment was to remove all the thugs from the town and to make the place safe.
“They promised to deal with me; they said they have lions and tigers but this election will determine if we still want them or want to move Edo forward.”
In his remarks, the spokesperson for the engineers, Engr. Jonathan Ekhodiaehi, commended the governor for his developmental strides across the state.
According to Ekhodiaehi, “The developmental projects that have been going on in the state are all visible for all to see. You wake up in the morning and see that your environment has been developed.
“We also want to thank you for empowering the building professionals in your government, especially for the appointment of one of us in the Ministry of Infrastructure.”
