Oshiomhole decries politics of godfatherism
By Alice Onukwugha
Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has decried the continuous dictates of godfathers in the Nigerian politics, identifying it as the problem militating against true democracy in the country.
Comrade Oshiomhole who was delivering a Keynote Address at a three-day retreat for legislators organized by the Rivers State House of Assembly at Tinapa, Calabar said there can be no healthy democracy without the presence of opposition parties.
The Edo State Governor decried a situation where projects enshrined in his budget to bring about speedy development in Edo state, were either cancelled, allocations reduced or viaed to area that are not critical by those who claim to be godfathers of the state, just to frustrate his efforts because he was of opposition.
“When we came into office we met a rotten system. I sat down and decided that we begin to beautify the state. I presented a budget to build more schools, dualise roads leading to the state and that of the airport.
“I also thought that okada was borne out of necessity. There is so much poverty and unemployment. We decided that we were not going to stop them but vehicles would be bought and distributed so that people could make alternatives.
“Instead of the Assembly to look at the budget on how it would impact on the lives of the people, they took it to a godfather in Abuja who cancelled all the projects, because they are of the opposition. The only one they managed to approve was the airport road, but the allocation had to be drastically reduced”, he said.
Comrade Oshiomhole said there was the need for multiple parties in the country, stressing, “You can't talk of democracy without multiple parties. Multiple parties in a democracy give room for healthy competition”.
Describing a budget as an attempt to identify resources and allocate them to match the needs of the people, the Edo State Chief Executive maintained that each government has priorities, which was the reason why some sectors receive more allocations than the others.
Comrade Oshiomhole insisted that where there is not opposition, the Executive could get the Assembly to agree with its budget, provided they are not viewed as rubber stamps.
According to him, the House to function effectively, it must recognize the powers of the executive, adding, “No one has absolute powers”.
Maintaining that education was still a big challenge in Nigeria, Comrade Oshiomhole called on government at all levels to use available resources to address the needs of different classes of people in society.
He reasoned that his invitation to deliver an address at the retreat despite being an opposition shows commitment on the part of the Rivers State Assembly towards good governance and thanked the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for the cordial relationship that has existed between the two arms of government.
