BEVERLY HILLS, August 04, (THEWILL) –Â The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has described as disheartening protests that have greeted the launch of a transport scheme that was launched by Governor Adams Oshiomhole in May known has the “Oshiomhole Cab”, accusing the state government of playing with the intelligence of the beneficiaries of the scheme.
It would be recalled that beneficiaries of the scheme two weeks ago protested an alleged hike in the loan-sum from the agreed price.
Speaking in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of the state, during a rally organised to welcome members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Edo North senatorial zone, who defected to the PDP, Edo State PDP chairman , Chief Dan Orbih, said the state government has brought untold hardship on the people of the state, especially workers.
“For some strange reasons, he has handed the Edo Line to a rival transport company to manage. The state owned Bendel Brewery, which in the past was the pride of the state is now dead. The workers, who were over 300 at a time are now being owed 31-months salary. Electricity supply to the company was cut on July 7, 2014 over unpaid bills. Under Osunbor, they were producing 180,000 cartons of beer per month but they can hardly produce five now.
“It is disheartening that the state government was playing games with the beneficiary of the scheme.
As usual, the Oshiomhole cab has turned out to be another Greek gift created to further impoverish the people. How can you agree to give out Suzuki cabs for N1.5 million and suddenly increase the sum to N2.5 million? How can you change the goal post in the middle of the to game?” Orbih asked.
He promised that the PDP government, if elected to office, would look into the matter and ensure that justice is served.
Orbih added that the state government has created a fraudulent culture of awarding contracts and reviewing it so as to increase the contract sum, citing examples including the Upper Lawani flood and erosion control, which he said was increased to the sum N4.62 billion from the initial sum of N1.5 billion.
A member of the House of Representatives, representing Esako Federal Constituency, Hon Abubakar Momoh, at the rally announced his defection from APC to PDP along with his supporters and some other leaders of the APC in the Edo North senatorial district.
Momoh, who said he could no longer remain in the APC because the party reeked of anti-democratic tendencies, announced his defection at Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of the state, along with about 2,000 former APC members.
At the event, over 2,000 former members of the APC across the councils in the Edo North senatorial district announced their defection to PDP. Also at the rally were former chairman of Etsako East Local Government Area, Hon Stanley Odidi; a former member of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Godwin Esheshi; Hon Kasimu Dokpesi and Hon Joseph Alemoh Akhigbe.
