APC’s Okpebholo pledges to develop Edo’s aviation sector with state-owned airline

Monday Okpebholo, Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the September Governorship election in Edo State, has said that he will develop the State’s Aviation sector by floating a State-owned airline if elected governor of the State.

Okpebholo, an incumbent Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, stated this during an interactive session with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Tuesday in Benin City.

The APC flag bearer, who said Oba Akenzua II Airport is one of the busiest and viable airports in the Country, noted that his Administration would take advantage of its viability to float the State-owned airlines.

He noted that the State would join Akwa-Ibom State that floated its own airline. According to him, Edo will float its own airline like Akwa-Ibom State if voted into power.

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He said, the airline would contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the State as it would go along way in boosting internally-generated revenue.

“We are going to see a new Edo. Can we say we have a befitting State capital? Benin was the capital city during the defunct Midwestern state and also capital for the old Bendel and similarly the capital city for Edo.

“Unfortunately, there is no single flyover bridge. Go to Calabar, go to Portharcourt and you will appreciate what I am talking about,”he said.

He also promised that as an IT expert, he would deploy his experience to bring in international investors into the State and not the Memoranda of Understanding that the current Government was synonymous with.

Okpebholo, who, however, decried the high level of insecurity in the State, promised to declare a State of Emergency on security in his first day in office.

While promising to revive the education system in the State, he opined that there was nothing in the much-talked-about EdoBEST education reform in the State.

“I went to some schools and cried because of the poor infrastructure. No classrooms and teachers. Regrettably, there is a ratio of two teachers to more than 200 students in a school.

“These are critical areas we will look into when I emerge. We will set the ball,” he added.

The governorship hopeful also expressed his plan to revamp the health sector, which he said had been in a state of comatose in the last eight years.

He asserted that Obaseki had messed up the achievements of Adams Oshiomhole, but noted, however, that he was coming to fix the State.

He bemoaned the increasing debt profile of the State, saying the present Government in the State took the profile from N43 billion to more than N500 billion.

Okpebholo, who promised to provide conducive environment for job creations and opportunities, recounted his contributions to development in his Senatorial District, even before nursing the ambition to join partisan politics.