John Yakubu, an aspirant for the 2024 Governorship election in Edo said his main priorities would be a generation of 100 megawatt of electricity to the national grid to boost the socioeconomic development of the state.
Yakubu, who spoke to newsmen during an interactive session in Benin City, promised that the feat will be achieved within a few months or years of assumption of office if elected governor.
The governorship aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, who explained that he visited the Covenant University to understudy its power generation model, said what cost the university to generate 17MW for 24hours power supply to the community, was less that N700 million.
According to him, today, Edo State has added about 100 Megawatt to the national grid and this is the only state that could boat of that among the 36 states.
“I tell you this, we have abandoned abundant gas resources to make sure we are able to provide electricity for our people. How do we do that? It is not a rocket science.
“From Benin through Edo Central to Edo North, the gas needed to give our people is available. We have the understanding that as we speak today, there is valve in Igueben and Auchi.
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“These valves are provided by those who did that pipeline to enable any person interested in taking that gas for the benefits of the people to take advantage of that valves,” he said.
The governorship candidate hopefully promised to replicate the achievements he recorded while serving as the Chairman, Esan North East Local Government Area in the state between 2007 and 2010.
According to him, I had the opportunity to be the chairman of Esan North-East local government for just two years and ten months (between 2007 and 2010). The visible projects are still there.
“We have 774 local government areas, and I am the only one that built a police barrack. During my time, I asphalted eight roads, the longest was 1.5km with drains on both sides. I built about four boreholes to address the lack of water in Uromi.
“The only state council staff quarter you have in Esan North East was built by me in less than three years. These are verifiable projects,” he added.
The former running mate to the party governorship candidate in 2016, however, expressed commitment to resuscitate local government administration in the state without any form of interference if given the opportunity to serve.
He also promised employment generation through steady and uninterrupted electricity supply as well as provision of modern implement for mechanised agricultural practices.
On road infrastructure, the PDP chieftain said he would expand Ikpoba River bridge to address the habitual vehicular congestion at Ikpoba slope and intervene in Federal roads in the state to the benefits of the people.
“We must again allow the system to teach our people how profitable it is to be in a farm. When this is realised, nobody will come to you to talk and beg for money.
“They will go and before you could say jack, there is enough food for you to eat. There are lots of sachet water factories in Edo today, nobody begged them to go into it. It is because they think it is profitable, that is why they go into it,” he added.
