The Edo Government, on Sunday, posited that it is unfortunate that the Federal Government (FG) wants to gag the State’s Governor, Godwin Obaseki, over his opinion on the fuel subsidy removal.
Recall that Obaseki said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no economic plan for post-subsidy removal.
In response, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said Obaseki was trying to shift focus away from his “poor performance” at State level.
However, Chris Nehikhare, the Edo Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, described the minister’s claim as “blatantly false,” and that records are available to show that the Governor was not absent at these meetings.
“It is unfortunate and sad that the federal government now wants to gag citizens and even a popularly elected governor from speaking truth to power and expressing himself in the light of the perilous times we have fallen into.
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“The claim that governor Godwin Obaseki failed to attend the National Economic Council (NEC) meetings is blatantly false. The governor has attended all NEC meetings since the onset of this administration and records are there to prove this fact.
“The area where the minister may be referring to as non-performance should be the condition of the extensive federal roads running through the state, which the federal government has abandoned and even prevented us from intervening to repair claiming that contracts for their repairs have been awarded,” the commissioner said.
Nehikhare further cited the recent achievements of the State in areas of education, agriculture and technology, adding that records of Edo government’s performance are available for Nigerians to verify.