Efosa Uhunamure writes that Governor Monday Okpebholo is taking essential steps to proper the wrongs of the earlier authorities by the availability of infrastructural amenities like roads and hospitals to be used by the individuals of Edo State.
As soon as once more, Chris Nehikhare has criticised the administration of Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo. It’s relatively unlucky that the person has forgotten the ruins left behind by the quick previous authorities. Edo individuals haven’t forgotten.
For years, Nehikhare served because the megaphone of an administration that mismanaged the individuals’s belief, plunged households into hardship, and left Edo employees, college students, and companies in ache.
Right now, Edo breathes once more as a result of there’s a governor who values lives, particularly probably the most susceptible amongst us: our kids. The ₦2.5 billion launched by Governor Okpebholo for the development of a world-class Paediatric Specialist Clinic at UBTH is extra than simply one other undertaking; it’s a loud declaration that this authorities values the lives of Edo youngsters. It’s the image of a brand new period in Edo, the place hospitals are constructed, not demolished; the place well being is prioritized, not commercialized; and the place governance means compassion, not vanity.
That is precisely the distinction between yesterday’s rulers and at the moment’s management. Beneath Obaseki, which Chris defended, Edo’s 100-year-old Central Hospital was demolished to make approach for a museum undertaking. Stella Obasanjo Hospital was decreased to an empty shell. The Edo Specialist Hospital, constructed with taxpayer cash, was privatized to cronies. That administration turned healthcare into a non-public enterprise whereas Edo individuals died of their hundreds.
Let or not it’s stated loud and clear: UBTH’s doorways are open to our kids, our moms, our fathers, our households. UBTH could carry a federal tag, however its wards are crammed with Edo individuals. When a toddler in Uromi, Ekpoma, or Agenebode is rushed in emergency, they aren’t handled as “federal youngsters.” They’re Edo little children. To dismiss this N2.5 billion funding as pointless is to dismiss the lives of these youngsters.
The identical logic applies to roads and safety. Sure, they could be owned by the federal authorities, however who suffers once they fail? Edo individuals. When federal roads collapse, it’s Edo merchants and commuters which are trapped. When insecurity rises, it’s Edo households that bury their family members. And when hospitals lack amenities, it’s Edo youngsters that die. Senator Okpebholo understands this actuality, and that’s the reason he has not hidden behind excuses. As an alternative, he’s fixing federal roads, partnering with UBTH, supporting safety companies with gear, and constructing establishments that work for Edo individuals. That’s management. That’s accountability. That’s what Nehikhare and the previous administration by no means gave us.
This is the reason Okpebholo’s authorities is already delivering Edo’s first-ever flyover at Ramat Park whereas Obaseki couldn’t construct one in eight years; the truth is, one other has been authorised at Adesuwa Junction.
Amongst others, he has revived the moribund New Edo Line Transport Firm, a undertaking that immediately influence Edo lives and restore satisfaction within the state.
What ethical standing does Chris Nehikhare have to talk at the moment? Edo individuals know the reality: Nehikhare is just not talking for them; he’s solely struggling to remain related.
Beneath Senator Okpebholo, Edo is on a brand new path. He’s restoring dignity to governance, bringing again improvement with a human face, and making certain that no Edo particular person is left behind. His authorities has proven compassion the place the final authorities confirmed vanity, outcomes the place they delivered excuses, and hope the place they left despair.
The N2.5 billion Paediatric Clinic at UBTH is not only a undertaking; it’s a image of Edo’s rebirth. It’s proof that the period of reckless propaganda is over, and the period of people-centered governance has begun.
Nehikhare belongs to the previous. Edo individuals are centered on the long run and that future is being constructed at the moment by Senator Okpebholo.
-Uhunamure writes from Oredo.
