Posted by From LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
Governor Osarhiemwen Osunbor of Edo State has said his predecessor, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, should carry his present cross alone because no one but himself (Igbinedion) was responsible for the misdeeds he is being accused of while in office.
Governor Osarhiemwen Osunbor of Edo State has said his predecessor, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, should carry his present cross alone because no one but himself (Igbinedion) was responsible for the misdeeds he is being accused of while in office.
Osunbor, who fielded questions from State House correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, shortly after the meeting on the local government elections convened by President Umaru Yar'Adua, said the former governor had himself to blame for his actions and inactions in office.
'I didn't put him in his present predicament", he told the newsmen when reacting to a question on what role he was playing to assist his predecessor, adding: 'I have not played any role".
He said his predecessor was expected to give the people of the state the much desired democracy dividends but did the opposite, pointing out that the Igbinedion administration 'fell far short of the expectations of the people".
The governor explained that the immediate past administration in the state left a total indebtedness of N20 billion, which his government was still battling to deal with, adding, however, that his government was determined to put the past behind it and forge ahead in its bid to tackle the state's developmental problems.
'On the whole, the total indebtedness that we computed is N20 billion. We are trying to make do with the little resources made available to us. We are improving on our internally generated revenue; we are targeting about N8 billion this year. Some of the oil wells that should be credited to Edo State in order to beef up our 13 per cent are either still subject of dispute with neighbouring states or are not operating right now because of some activities of criminal elements.
'We hope to be able to address these issues so that these oil wells can resume production and hopefully we will be able to attain the projected revenue of N60 billion plus, which we have proposed as our budget for this year".
Asked if he would assist the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its current investigation of his predecessor, if approached, Osunbor waxed philosophical, saying: 'That is hypothetical. If I am not approached, I wouldn't".
Speaking on the on-going case challenging his election at the state election tribunal, he said he had no cause to lose any sleep over the issue because his party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was the one to beat in the state.
'I just told you PDP is the party on ground in Edo State and if out of 24 seats in the House of Assembly, PDP won 16 and AC won eight and that election took place simultaneously with the governorship election, then you can assess for yourself even without being a lawyer about the outcome of the April 14 elections. So, no shaking", he declared.
Governor Osunbor assured the people of his determination's determination to make a difference in the governance of the state by bringing about the fast rate of infrastructural development.
The governor said: 'I brought with me to the office of governor of Edo State a track record of achievement, performance and if you like excellence in my previous endeavours, career. This is what I sold to the electorate and they believed in me and in spite of the reservations that some people had we were victorious in the elections.
'Knowing the high level of renewed hope and expectations by the people I wasted no time in getting down to the business of governance knowing fully well the essence of governance is that the people expect to see development, see good leadership because with that people can follow and you can get a lot more done.
'I am happy that these past seven months or so that there is no questions in the minds of the people of Edo that we mean business and we are ready to bring about the fast rate of development of infrastructure which had unfortunately fallen into a state of decay and disrepair these past few years", he further pointed out.