Special Adviser on Media, to the Edo state Governor berates Minister of Niger Delta Affairs

Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media, Crusoe Osagie, has berated the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr. Abubakar Momoh for attempting to mislead the public on the State Government’s feeding programme, noting that claims by the Minister that the bags of rice allocated to the State by the Federal Government were rebagged and distributed by the state government is completely false and malicious.

In a statement, Osagie said the State Government had in March, 2024 designed a feeding programme that was implemented through religious institutions in the State with over N2.2bn released to Christian and Muslim bodies to implement the programme, which has been very successful.

According to him, “The attention of the Edo State Government has been drawn to comments by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, in which he attempted to mislead the public about the State Government’s feeding programme.

“The State would like to place on record that the reference made by the Minister that the bags of rice allocated to the state government by the Federal Government were rebagged and distributed by the state government is completely false and malicious.

“The State Government had in March designed a feeding programme that was implemented through religious institutions in the State. Over N2.2bn was released to Christian and Muslim bodies to implement the programme, which has been very successful.

“The case of looted bags of rice referenced by the Minister has been put to rest by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who have explained that it was an incident at the residence of one of its vendors.

“But unfortunately, the All Progressives Congress (APC), whose propaganda the Minister appears to echo in his interview on national television, seems to have an axe to grind with the Christian umbrella body.”

Osagie noted that “It was mischief unexpected of a top government official to claim credit for the relief materials being distributed by CAN under the sponsorship of the State Government. Also, it is expected that a member of the Federal Executive Council, the highest government decision-making organ in the country, will be able to make factual statements about the Federal Government’s own feeding programme.”

The statement further reads: “The Minister appeared hollow and was confused about the feeding programme by the government he serves, therefore leaving the people even more confused than they were before he attempted to provide an explanation.

“The Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, as he has repeatedly done to keep the agencies of the Federal Government in check, has expressed concerns about the way and manner the Federal Government has proceeded with its efforts to feed the vulnerable people in the country.

“Just the same way he warned the Federal Government against the printing of Naira notes without commensurate economic value, noting that it will throw the country into spiraling inflation, Federal Ministers and APC top officials vehemently denied it and called him names, but today Nigerians are bearing the brunt of over 40% inflation rate.

“Another instance was when he warned about the impending plunge of the value of the Naira against the Dollar and other world currencies. The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) derided the governor and sponsored attacks against him but today the rate is N1600 to a dollar. It was N750 to a dollar when the governor gave the warning.

“Just as Nigeria is reeling from the consequence of the previous warnings by the governor, over which he was attacked and pilloried, so also will the negative consequence of the resort to ill-planned and poorly implemented feeding programme come back to haunt the Federal Government in the face of mounting hardship and suffering of the people. Time will tell.”

The governor’s aide stated, “For the enlightenment of the Minister, who needs to pay more attention to what is going on in his home State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has implemented more people-oriented policies in the light of the current hardship in the country.

“Some of these include being the first state to raise its minimum wage to N70,000 when the Federal Government was engaging workers’ unions in ridiculous contemplation and playing catch-up; roll out of free transport scheme along the routes operated by the Edo City Transport Service (ECTS) and the state-wide feeding programme implemented through religious bodies.

“We have constructed over 2000km of roads in Edo State. Despite the pressure from failed Federal Government roads that criss-cross our dear State, these roads are still standing.

“It is regrettable that instead of harkening to the cries of the poor, the Federal Government is taking a rather unsympathetic stance.”

“The Minister should play his role and use the virtue of his office to advocate for a better deal for the people so as to complement the outstanding policies implemented by the governor,” Osagie charged.