Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has assured members of the Edo State Welders Association of his administration’s commitment to creating a business-friendly environment, with priority attention to the challenge of epileptic power supply.
The governor gave the assurance on Tuesday while receiving the President of the Edo State Chapter of the Welders Association, Peter Osagie, and other members on a courtesy visit to Government House, Benin City.
Addressing the welders, Governor Okpebholo said his government was already working to address power challenges affecting artisans and small businesses.
“I am ready to partner with you; we are already working on the epileptic power supply affecting your businesses,” he said.
“A 100-megawatt is already in the pipeline. They have been building it, and I am sure between now and November that power will be on.
We will be using it here in Edo, and that is going to be one of the biggest in our state and is here in Ologbo.”
The governor added that similar decentralised power projects are being planned for Edo North and Edo Central Senatorial Districts.
“That is why you people voted for us to make life comfortable for you. The roads we are constructing today are for the people,” he stated.
Okpebholo also assured the association that rehabilitation work on the Benin-Sapele Road would be completed soon, noting that the project was already 90 per cent completed.
He disclosed other upcoming interventions, including the distribution of 200 government buses to be paid for in instalments for all 18 Local Government Areas.
“For me, I have decided that I will leave Edo better than I met it, in terms of infrastructure and security. We now have an Edo of all inclusiveness, where everybody will be living together equally,” the governor said.
The governor commended President Bola Tinubu, describing him as “the best president that has ever happened to Nigeria” for removing the fuel subsidy and redirecting funds to development projects.
He also spoke on the President’s tax reform, saying it was designed to benefit low-income earners. He urged the welders to support the current government and not allow themselves to be used negatively during elections.
In his remarks, Osagie thanked the governor for the enabling environment and highlighted epileptic power supply as the association’s major challenge. He also appealed for the establishment of a “welder village” to accommodate members.
Osagie said the association had designed bus terminals to be constructed along the Benin-Sapele Road and had rolled out training programmes across the 18 LGAs to tackle the issue of out-of-school children.
“We have designed full training across the 18 Local Government Areas to curtail out-of-school children dropout. We want you to partner with us to train more of these out-of-school children,” he said.
The welder’s president also pledged the association’s support for the government, promising to deliver the “2.5 million votes” target for President Tinubu in Edo.
“Mr Governor, I can assure you that the 2.5 million votes you assured Tinubu, we will deliver. We have over 15 thousand in Edo. We have wives; we have parents. It is where we vote that our families will vote,” Osagie said.
