Obaseki, Okowa move to tackle insecurity

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and his Delta State counterpart Ifeanyi Okowa in Asaba on Wednesday met behind closed doors to discuss the security issues affecting the two states.

They also discussed poor power supply by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company.

Addressing reporters after the visit, the governors said the meeting had no political undertone.

They said they discussed how to deepen economic ties and improve the security situation in their states.

Obaseki said they also discussed how to strengthen the BEDC to provide electricity for its area of coverage.

BEDC has received strong criticism for the power situation in Edo, Delta, Ekiti and Ondo states.

He said, “A regional master plan is necessary for implementation by the Niger Delta Development Commission and we also looked at the area of energy as Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ekiti states are major stakeholders in the BEDC. So, we need to be proactive to strengthen the BEDC to provide electricity to our people.

“We also agreed to ask for the inauguration of the NDDC Advisory Committee of Governors and also to work with our colleagues to improve governance in the commission.

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“We are of the view that based on the resources the commission receives, there is a need for improvement in project conception, citing and execution because nothing stops the commission from using 50 per cent of its resources to solve the energy problem of the region.”

Obaseki added, “We looked at insecurity in our common borders, especially, communal clashes and general insecurity and we have agreed to ask the Assistant Inspector-General of Police and Commissioners of Police to come up with a plan to restore security to our states.”