We saved N5bn from recurrent expenditure first year in office – Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole, Edo State governor, weekend said his government saved the sum of N5billion from leakage and wasteful recurrent expenditure in the first of administration.
Oshiomhole made the disclosure during the commissioning of the constructed dual-carriage New Lagos Road in Benin City by the former governor of Lagos State, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
He disclosed that he had to undergo tutorial on how to block-leakage in public finance and governance under the tutelage of Tinubu to be able to deal with the challenges militating against public financing.
The governor said he was never ashamed to make it public that the state copied from Lagos State on how to change and ensure that values are added to governance as well as look inward to find resources to deal with the vision the government was convinced about.
According to him, “Tinubu, you won’t remember sir, that the first thing you told me on assumption of office to do is to watch out and look at all the leakages in government that every desk is a potential leaking point and that it will make no sense to attempt to attract more revenue by way of taxes without first and foremost breaking those leakages. “For me, those were matching orders and I came back and when I looked at the entire sector of government and we did couple of things differently that first year we saved about N5billion in cost of governance. We reduce our recurrent expenditure by as much as N5billion which translate to over N400million monthly”, he said.
Oshiomhole also added that government had stepped on several toes to be able to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of the state in all sectors of governance.

He added that the constructed New Lagos Road was part of the resolve of the helpful advice the APC national leader gave him as governor of the state.
The governor, who said freedom was the outcome of ABUJAsustained struggle, noted that freedom cannot be obtained on a platter of gold.
While noting that APC controlled about 80 percent of the South West states, he posited that by the end of the general election in 2015, the party would control the Federal Government.
In his remarks, Tinubu who commissioned the road commended the state government for putting the welfare people of the state first in all its scheme of work.
He noted that apart from commissioning the road, the people are also celebrating the spirit of enlightened progressive governance which has become the hallmark of the state government from his first day in office.
The APC national leader, who opined that the state government’s achievements have shown great difference progressive governance can make, added that the people are today locked in a monumental battle for the soul and fate of the nation.
He said the party seeks for progress and well-being for all Nigerians but that the forces of ignorance, greed and bias stand against it.