By Simon Ebegbulem, Benin-City
Vincent Uwadia is the Chairman of Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission (EDSOGPADEC).  In this interview, he says the administration of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole ensured that the Commission brought development to the oil and gas producing communities in the state. He also speaks on issues militating against peace in the Niger Delta.

We have a new governor, Godwin Obaseki. Are you satisfied with  former Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s developmental strides in the oil communities?

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a father to everybody in this Commission and we will definitely miss him. He is like an enigma. When you are working with him, you need to be on your toes 24/7 because he is not relenting. His being at the helm of affairs in the state energized members of this Commission to be able to meet with the pace at which he was moving. He gave us free-hand. It is not easy for a Chief Executive to allow a Commission like ours to operate the way we did without  interference.   Oshiomhole will ask how our projects are going and we will sit with him and brief him on all we are doing, what we have been doing and what we need to do in the next fiscal year. In a way, we already miss him because of his proactive way of doing things which equally on our own we have emulated and has given us result.

Uwadia

You would agree with me that before we were appointed, protests from the oil producing areas were very rampant but since we came on board, because the people are now seeing the dividends of their oil money, because we were taking after the footsteps of the governor, we have been able to curb protests in these areas as we did not want to disappoint the comrade governor and the people of this area. We have been able to evolve a strategy here that is meeting the demands of the people from the oil producing communities. We will miss him. Unfortunately for us, the revenue from oil has drastically dropped. This, in a way has equally affected the performance at our level here. Prior to this time, specifically during our first tenure, we had quite a lot of projects that were initiated ranging from roads to schools, hospitals, health centres, police stations, markets, even electrification, we were involved and we were able to finish 95% of them as of that time.

But for about a year plus now when we had a drop in revenue, meeting up the ongoing projects has been very difficult because of the capital outlay. The construction of the road in Abudu which a bridge is part of, like controlling the flood in Erediauwa and 25 streets we are doing in that area and the recent is the one that was flagged-off in Ovia. We pray that whatever the problem is in the Niger-Delta will be resolved  by the President so that the quantum of oil that is  produced and exported from Nigeria will improve. When there is an improvement in  oil production, I am sure EDSOPADEC will bounce back to meet up with whatever we have set out to do and what we intend to do later.

Obaseki is now governor. What are your expectations?

Obaseki, who is now governor, has been the Chairman of the Economic Team. He is a technocrat and has always been in Edo and he has  been the engine room of the Oshiomhole administration.   I will liken the governor to the engine of every vehicle. Obaseki while he was in the Oshiomhole government was like an engine room and of course when the comrade was doing the policy work, Obaseki was doing the paper work. So in a way he has learnt it all and he is going to consolidate. The difference in his coming is that while the comrade was seen as the governor and he was at the background, today, Obaseki, whatever he has been doing behind, he is coming to the open to practicalize it. So it is going to be on a very soft and familiar terrain he is going to operate. The people that have been there and working with him, he knows them, he will work with them and he is going to get the best out of them.

Are you worried about the PDP protest over the guber election?

I am not sure there is any election in Nigeria that has been conducted and the loser didn’t go to court or tribunal except former President Jonathan. Nigeria is an evolving society and when the opponent is convinced he lost, he still wants to try the tribunal. I call it try your luck, anything can happen but this past election is considered as one of the freest elections and I am not sure there was any part of Benin where there was a gunshot. If you look at the election, the INEC perfected quite a lot of the initial problems that had to give us a befitting election. Of course they will go to court but the tribunal is there with seasoned judges, they look at the weight of the evidence on both sides and come to a conclusion, but, for me, I know this was a peaceful election and victory was achieved.

How did your activities in the rural areas help in the electoral victory of Obaseki and APC?

In an election, the first principle that determines who wins is what has been done for the people. The projects EDSOGPADEC executed in the three local governments within our jurisdiction were numerous. The people in the area, who hitherto had not been privileged to drink pipe-borne water, are now drinking pipe-borne water. They now attend schoos with fans, PVC ceiling, ultra-modern classrooms like the one you have in Idia College. They now go to their farms plying  good roads. Roads that before now when they were going to farm it will take them three hours by bike or bicycle, they now ride  there and in less than 10 minutes they are in their respective farms. So in a way it translated to the people being aware that these things that were being provided by EDSOGPADEC equally translate to knowing that the man at the helm of affairs who gave a free hand for us to perform should equally be compensated.

The projects that we did in these remote areas helped in encouraging the people to come out enmasse to vote and sustain the projects because if they had, maybe changed the government, this EDSOGPADEC that is given free hand to work may not be  able to provide anything for them anymore. In a way what we did by giving them projects is what they gave back to the party by voting for the APC.