Edo State Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, announced that the World Bank had approved $75 million (N40 billion) to revamp education in the state. He warned that the educational system under his watch would no longer produce touts, but children who would be exposed to learning, literacy, and vocation.
He disclosed this when his re-election campaign team visited the palace of Elawure of Usen in Ovia South West Local Government Area of the state.
He assured that the money which was approved by the World Bank board on Wednesday would be properly utilised to change the face of education in Edo and Nigeria in the next three years.
Obaseki, who commended members of his team for the fantastic work done so far, said the intervention fund would help to expand the existing Edo best educational scheme from the basic to secondary level, and put the state-owned tertiary education system on the path of progress.
He said he was not afraid of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whenever the need arises, considering the gains that have been recorded so far.
“Education is very apt and we have started working to reposition and re-enact it in Edo State, particularly, beginning with basic education.
He also declared his support for the presidential probe panel on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), vowing that he would mobilise support of other governors in the Niger Delta region to demand for the refund of the epic financial malfeasance in the Board and return of the abandoned NDDC projects to the states.
The governor equally promised to reconstruct the Elawure Grammar School and support local security in the area, as well as bridge the infrastructural gap in the locality, which arose out of decades of abandonment.
Earlier in his remarks, the Elawure of Usen, His Royal Highness, Oba Oluagbo II, endorsed the governor for a second term in office, stressing that Obaseki had touched every segment of the state’s economy.
The traditional ruler, who pledged the donation of a vast farmland for palm fruits cultivation, drew the attention of the state government to the challenges confronting them.