By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN-ABDUCTORS of wife of former Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mrs Phidelia Omokhodion, have demanded N100 million ransom.

It will be recalled that the former Speaker, Mr. Bright Omokhodion’s daughter and sister were kidnapped last year.

Mrs Omokhodion was abducted, Tuesday, close to Sapele Road area by gunmen while she was returning from work. Vanguard learnt that the abductors contacted the family, yesterday, deman-ding N100 million, which they said must be paid before tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirant, Mr. Jacob Idinye, has lamented what he descri-bed as the spate of inse-curity in the state, and appealed to the Federal Go-vernment to build a mini port in Agenebode to create jobs for youths.

He said: “The insecurity problem we are having in Edo State is as a result of unemployment. I appeal to Federal Government to build a dry port here. All they need to do is to dredge the river in Agenebode. River Niger passes through that area.

“We can have a mini port to generate employ-ment and revenue. We have that kind of port in Jos and some Northern parts of the country. Jos does not even have a sea. The problem is that we must move away from a civil service state to an industrialised one.”

“We need to also develop our agricultural sector. I believe that with the kind of vegetation we have in Edo State, we can grow crops for export. These are the issues I will want to tackle as Governor of Edo State. Without security, it will be difficult for people to invest in our state. We must tackle these problems urgently.”