Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has made a case for diversification of the country’s revenue base away from crude oil.
The governor, while speaking to journalists in Benin, called for a quick diversification of the nation’s economy to increase non-oil revenue.
Obaseki said: “Before the civil war, we had no crude oil: The regions relied on the resources that they had and the government was run based on taxation, which was derived from the regions and production, particularly agricultural production in the regions.
“In the last 40 years or so, crude oil came and replaced those economic activities and earnings. So, we now run a federation relying almost exclusively on crude oil. For a country that is still hoping on crude oil, it is only a question of time and pretending and doing all sorts of interesting and financial gymnastics to keep it going; it’s only a question of time.”
Noting the need for leaders to listen and work, always, in the interest of the people, Obaseki said: “When they say government, what they really mean is us.”