BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN – GOVENOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, weekend, admitted that he was unpopular among the political elites in the state because of  his refusal to award contracts to politicians but to competent contractors.

The Governor,   disclosed this while inspecting the Anegbette-Ekperi Road in Etsako Central Local Government Area and Jattu-Uzairue-Ayohan Roads in Etsako West and East Local Government Areas.

He said that government had made remarkable achievements in the construction of roads and other projects in the state because it resisted the temptation to award the contracts to politicians, who may eventually abandon the jobs and “share the money.”

Meanwhile, there was  jubilation in Okpekpe community, Etsako West when the governor went on an on-the-spot inspection of the roads. For years, communities in the area were isolated from their neighours due to the absence of access roads.

The state government, it was learnt,  decided to open up the communities by constructing a new road. It was also learnt that the contractor faced the herculean task of breaking through rocks.

Governor Oshiomhole, who spoke to newsmen at Okpekpe, after thanking God for using him to bring joy and hope to people of the communities, said  “the truth of the matter is that I am the first to admit that I am not popular among a good section of the political elites in the state because for them, resources should be shared and even if contracts should be awarded, it should be to party leaders. It does not matter to them, whether  these party leaders know anything about road construction.

“Once the contract was awarded, the money is shared and nothing will be done. You will recall that during my campaign and first year in office, I did say that we are not going to use Edo State for experimentation and that we will deal only with seasoned contractors not politicians.

“So what has happened is that because we are giving jobs to those who are competent to do the work and because we had carried out proper studies,  designs and proper costing of projects, we are able to do what we had planned, ” he added.