Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki on Wednesday, said his administration would refurbish facilities damaged by the last rainstorm at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
He stated this during an inspection tour to the damaged facilities of the stadium in Benin City, the Edo State Capital, where he also noted that that some of the facilities would be overhauled and upgraded.
The governor, who was taken round the damaged facilities by the Asst. Director of sports facilities, Victor Edokpayi, said, “We are here to inspect the damage done to some facilities. We can see some of the rooftops blown off by the rainstorm. The rooftop of the swimming pool and the gymnasium were totally blown off. The facilities here need total overhauling”.
Governor Obaseki, accompanied by his deputy, Hon. Philip Shaibu and the SSG, Barr. Osarodion Ogie, said his administration would refurbish the facilities in the stadium particularly the swimming pool section and some other damaged sections such as the judo hall and indoor sports complex that were damaged by the rainstorm.
He said the facilities in the stadium need to be improved upon to get more of the younger ones interested and involved in sporting activities.
On the duration of the refurbishment, the governor disclosed that a consultant would be invited immediately to carry out an assessment and evaluation of the damage to the facilities, after which the project would take off.
In the meantime, Governor Obaseki has charhed the Chairman of the Edo State Chapter and the Bishop of the Anglican Communion, Benin Diocese, Bishop Peter Imasuen to either develop the Church’s educational institution, or risk a state government takeover
He said: “I am particular about education because we all know the power of education. During my predecessor’s tenure, we transferred 3 schools as test cases to the missions – 1 each to the Anglican Communion, the Baptist and the Catholic.
“I am putting it on notice that if the standard of that school does not improve in the next two years, the government will take it back. I am prepared to work with you to do whatever we need to do to get that school to where it should be.”
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In addition, he reassured the clergyman that his administration’s priorities were clear, and that the government needed to re-enact basic education because failure to ensure that teaching standards and curriculum reached international levels.
Meanwhile, the governor attributed all his accomplishments to God, revealing that it would be untrue to attribute them to his planning and policy-making, while also declaring that the Anglican Communion had a responsibility to the country.
Bishop Imasuen, for his part, commended the governor for the massive reconstruction projects going on in the state, while also assuring the governor, who was also of the Anglican faith, that the Church would improve on the important areas pointed out by the Governor.
Also the government of Edo has revealed that the new security arrangements being put in place in the state would go a long way to address the current security challenges in Nigeria, especially the sub region.
Governor Obaseki, disclosed this on Wednesday at the Edo State Government House in Benin City while hosting the newly appointed Commander of 107 Air Maritime Group of the Nigerian Air force, Air Commodore E.O Shobande.
Receiving the team, the governor congratulated the commander on his appointment and thanked the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar for sending an aircraft to transport the remains of two-time Governor of the Old Midwest and Bendel States, Brigadier Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia from Lagos to Benin.
While urging the officer to see his appointment as a homecoming, he noted that Edo state would take advantage of the uniqueness of the security facilities of the force to combat crimes and to ensure Edo was a crime-free state.
He also assured of the state government’s unflinching support to work closely with the Command and other security agencies like the Director of State Security Services (SSS) to see that all security challenges were nipped in the bud.
On his part, Shobande thanked the governor for the warm reception, adding that his appointment would further spur him to work with the government of Edo State in the area of addressing security issues.
Shobande said he was already familiar with the terrain of the state, stressing that he had erstwhile been posted to serve in the command as an officer between 2014 and 2018.
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