ANALYSIS: How has Obaseki fared as Edo governor?

Perhaps the year 2020 was the year Governor Godwin Obaseki faced the stiffest political opposition in his career after his erstwhile ‘political godfather’, Adams Oshiomhole, who perfected his emergence as governor in 2016, turned against him.

“That I can stand before you today as the re-elected Governor of Edo State is a testimony to the awesome power of God Almighty and the indomitable will and determination of the great people of Edo State,” he told a mammoth crowd in Benin City on 12 November 2020 in his second term inaugural address, apparently acknowledging the unchartered waters of political opposition he had just trumped.

Laying bare his social contract for the people of Edo State in the next four years, the elated Governor Obaseki reminisced about his last four years, telling the people how he employed “accountability, transparency, and co-governance” to position the state as a “success story of good governance in Nigeria.”

His top priorities for the second term were growing the social sector, improving the education and healthcare system, building the economy and driving industrialisation, trade and investment, and preserving the environment.

“Our major drive will be the clean and green initiative and sustaining our campaign to plant trees and restore the forest. Exploit agriculture and natural resources by tapping our God-given resources to provide food security, create wealth and improve the livelihoods of our people.

“Revamp the transport sector by developing transport infrastructure to a more modern and affordable system,” the governor had said.

But four years down the line, the distance between Mr Obaseki’s promises and what he has done is still far apart, according to data and analysts.

Opinion about his performance in office is also sharply divided among the people in the state. While some believe he has done well, some believe he did not do much compared to his predecessor in office, Mr Oshiomhole.

Analysts rate Obaseki as good in education, and poor in other areas

Analysts, particularly members of civil society organisations in the state, scored Mr Obaseki’s performance high on education, especially at the primary and secondary school level and e-governance, where they corroborated that the governor has eliminated an era of paper movement from one table to another in government ministries.

In separate interviews with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Israel Orekhan, executive director of Connected Advocacy, Jude Obasanmi of Josemaria Escriva Foundation, and Bright Oniovokukor, Convener of Rally for Peaceful Election, agreed that the governor has performed well in education and e-governance but below average in other sectors.

“I score him high in renovations of old buildings in Benin and also the introduction of ICT in learning and e-governance, but in other areas, employment, agriculture, roads and healthcare delivery, his performance is below average,” Mr Obasanmi said.

Messrs Orekhen and Obasanmi said Governor Obaseki began road constructions when the campaign for the 2024 governorship election was about to begin. They said the previous roads constructed by the administration were substandard and had started failing. They argued that the substandard roads were the result of the state government’s lack of supervision of the contractors.

“In job creation, he has not done well. And most of the jobs are being contracted to people in Lagos. There is only skeletal job employment in the civil service, but most of the contracts for major jobs are for people in Lagos, which most of the citizens fought earlier on because he (Mr Obaseki) was based in Lagos.

“Road networks are substandard because he has not taken time to supervise the job delivery by contractors. We are only seeing most of the road construction close to election and the quality of the road network is poor,” Mr Orekhan said, a position that Mr Oniovokukor corroborated.

The analysts scored the governor high on the establishment of Edo Security Network but said the outfit is poorly funded, lacks operational vehicles, and pays its personnel poorly.

Insecurity remains an enormous challenge in Edo, but Mr Obaseki’s administration cannot be solely blamed for this, as the federal government and not governors, has control over security agencies. Nigeria as a whole is facing unprecedented security challenges, ranging from insurrection, banditry and kidnapping to inter-communal killings and armed robbery.

“Farmers find it difficult to go to farms (in Edo) because of insecurity,” said Mr Orekhan.

Mr Orekhan acknowledged Governor Obaseki’s administration effort in the transportation sector through the building of a central park but said, “The delivery is poor”. “That is why I said he lacked supervision.”

“No new buses except the few ones he bought in his first term but he still runs a free transport service as part of (the) measures taken to cushion the effect of petrol price hike,” Mr Orekhan added.

Obaseki’s performance in data

According to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), a federal agency, Edo State’s total domestic debt as of 31 March 2024 is N72.4 billion, the lowest among the South-South states.

However, in terms of foreign debts, the DMO data of subnationals’ external debts as of 30 June 2023 shows that Edo State tops the ladder in the South-south with an external debt of $258 million. The figure placed Edo State in third place in the country after Lagos and Kaduna States. The three Nigerian subnationals have dollar-denominated debts above $250 million.

Edo State’s external debts are higher than those of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa combined.

According to data from BudgIT, from 2016, when Mr Obaseki became the governor of Edo, to 2021, the first year of his second term, the total debt burden of the state rose by 63.8 per cent.

BudgIT is a civic organisation promoting accountability and transparency in public spending in Nigeria.

According to a 2023 report by BudgIT, Edo State uses 19.9 per cent of its revenue for debt servicing.

Data also revealed that the state’s yearly internally generated revenue has increased from N25.3 billion in 2017 to N45.5 billion in 2022. The gross revenue from the Federal Account Allocation Committee has also leapt within the period from N48.7 billion to N130.5 billion.

Edo State under Governor Obaseki has, recorded an improvement in healthcare delivery.

“In Edo State, approximately 90.8 per cent of sampled women have received care from skilled health workers during their deliveries. This figure surpasses the national average of 69.6 per cent, indicating a favourable position for the state,” according to the BudgIT report.

The report said the state has demonstrated progress in early childhood mortality, which assesses the probability of a newborn dying between birth and five years of age. The state performance in this area, 81 deaths per 1000 live births, is less than the national average of 102.

Analysts in the state are in consensus that Mr Obaseki has fared well in terms of education but performed poorly in other sectors.