Edo APC governorship aspirant, Idahosa promises LG autonomy

A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in Edo state, Dennis Idahosa, has promised to review the several loans the state has incurred through the outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration if he gets the party ticket and is elected governor.

He also promised to ensure local government autonomy if elected.

This was as he declared that Edo State currently is one of the most indebted states in Nigeria.

Idahosa, who is representing Ovia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, is one of the four aspirants shortlisted by Gen. Julius Ihonvbere’s advisory committee, which worked on the need to prune down the number of aspirants in the party.

The exercise generated rancour in the party as many thought the committee was meant to screen the aspirants.

However, they clarified the issue and 13 aspirants bought the interest and nomination forms for the February 17 primaries.

On Tuesday, Idahosa told journalists that he would grant autonomy to the local government to drive development at the grassroots.

He also promised to replicate his developmental strides in his constituency.

He said the state government has not fulfilled its promises to the people and should be rejected alongside any candidate presented by the Peoples Democratic Party through the ballot.

He said, “Edo State currently is one of the most indebted states in Nigeria. When there is too much debt, most of the allocations accruing to the state will be used to service loans and we cannot sustain that. So under my watch as governor, we are going to review most of these loans because some of them were not properly evaluated.

“With what I have done in Ovia Federal Constituency, I know that if APC gives me the ticket, with your support and the good people of Edo State, I will win and turn Edo around.

“One of the things I will do is to ensure that there is local government autonomy, I will ensure that monies appropriated for them get to them so that they can develop their localities against what we currently have where local government areas are given stipends and not enough to work.”

On women empowerment, Idahosa said “I understand very well that women are the bedrock of every home and if we give them opportunities, they will maximize it which will help build our economy. The government will be a guarantor to all the financial institutions in Edo to give women soft loans.

“For the youth, I will leverage foreign investors to create jobs for them. I will woo foreign investors to come here and invest and then create real jobs for our people.”