From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has blamed the alarming increase in the number of destitute, beggars, lunatics and children roaming the streets of Benin City on the collapse of rehabilitation facilities due to official neglect and poor funding by the state government.
A statement by Victor Osehobo, assistant publicity secretary for Edo APC, alleged that Governor Godwin Obaseki had failed to articulate a realistic policy to rid the streets of deranged people.
The party also said the unending infighting in the PDP government led by Obaseki, which has deprived the state of a cabinet of commissioners and special advisers, has not helped in addressing the matter.
“Forget the claims by the government about its so-called benevolence to healthy citizens, even in the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, don’t these people also need government attention in the area of clothing, feeding and health care? Only a people-centred government knows that it has a duty to periodically organise a massive exercise to get these people off the Streets, or even realise that such moves would also help a great deal in strengthening the already precarious security situation in the state.”
The APC, therefore, called on Edo government “to as a matter of priority remove these people from the streets, by providing adequate funds for the rehabilitation centres to give them needed care and rehabilitation after which they can be released to their relations.”