By; RALPH OKHIRIA,Benin.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday commissioned the second Edo State owned university at Iyamho, Edo State.
The president who was on his day two visit to the state, praised the quality of the projects done by the governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, saying the Edo Governor has engraved his name in gold.
Speaking at the commissioning, the President said Nigeria’s economy is low at the moment because of the country’s mono-economy status.
He said for us to get out of the mess, we have to diversify to agriculture and solid minerals.
He said: “the quality of the projects I was made to commission are very, very solid, whether it is the roads, the educational institutions or the hospital. Certainly Governor Oshiomhole is lucky to last his two terms and to engrave his name in a golden historical plate.
“I believe the roads and the bridges will bring more people to live more comfortably and securely. He has done well for the people. He built a good hospital, again he served the people.
“I congratulate the incoming Governor, I thank him for his stamina going through the primaries and going through the elections and importantly, winning it.
“We believe this system, the multi-party democracy system is the best for us.
“We are doing best because we found ourselves as part of this great country called Nigeria. We are blessed with human and material resources. We made a terrible mistake in allowing ourselves to be cornered into a mono-economy and we are now paying dearly for our mistake.
“Now we have to go back to the land, solid minerals and do a lot of savings so that we can leave a lot of savings for our children and grandchildren.
“I very much congratulate the Governor, he has shown a lot of foresight by the quality of infrastructure he has put on the ground. May God reward him abundantly.
“I stand here to congratulate Adams Oshiomhole for his foresight, for his hard work and for his personal integrity. I hope when he successfully hands over, he will take some leave away from the local problems maybe for a couple of months, before he comes back to square one.”
At the commissioning of the Ugbegun-Ujiogba-Ebudin-Igueben-Ewohinmi-Ohordua-Emu road which cuts across five local governments in Edo Central, the President said “the Governor had very eloquently described the importance of rural roads. He explained the economic and security aspect of it and I believe the people who live in this area as he describes it know better.
“May God in his infinite mercy continue to make these roads secured and economically viable for the people of these local governments”.
On his part, Governor Oshiomhole said “Mr President, I want to join the Commissioner for Works to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And to support the Onogie of Igueben to say that you have made history. You have shown that you recognize that the forgotten majority of our people dwell in rural areas which is why you didn’t limit yourself to Benin.
“You agreed to come to this community to commission this road. By some coincidence, you will see the red roofs; those are primary school buildings which are a result of the collaboration between the state government and the Federal Government”.
President Buhari who arrived Benin City on Monday for a two-day official visit to Edo State has since left the state for Abuja, after paying a courtesy visit to the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare ll and commissioning a number of projects executed by the state government.
