Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, stated that the biggest problem Nigeria has is bureaucracy.
Obaseki made the declaration at the ‘Meet The Governor of Edo State’ Business and Investment Opportunities’ held at the Nigerian-British Chambers of Commerce (NBCC) in Lagos.
He said the reason the country had not recorded any meaningful progress was because of broken governance.
According to him, unless the government at all levels properly address bureaucracy, the gains of good governance would continue to elude Nigerians.
He insisted that there would be no economic development without the support of a functional bureaucracy.
He argued that whatever system of government, bureaucracy is designated to be an integral part of every policy process and implementation in the country and advocated institutional reform and change of attitude in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
He said: “The reason things are not working in Nigeria is that bureaucracy is broken. You can initiate all forms of policies but as long as we do not fix bureaucracy and if there are no right people to push, it would not work.”
Obaseki also charged the private sector and young Nigerians to participate actively in the nation’s politics to place the country on the path of sustainable growth.
He hinged the nation’s socio-economic problems to the failure of the citizens to participate in the process of electing leaders.
ALSO yesterday, Obaseki hailed Seplat Energy Plc for investing in education, particularly in the empowerment and training of teachers in the state.
Deputy Governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, who represented Obaseki, gave the commendation during the Seplat Energy Plc JV Education Roundtable and Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP) Awards in Benin City, Edo State.
Shaibu said the state government remained committed to providing quality education both at the basic education level and the post-basic levels.
He noted that the state government had kept faith in its obligation to deliver world-class education across schools in her EDOBEST programme.
Addressing newsmen at the Seplat roundtable organised in conjunction with NPDC, the Director, External Affairs and Sustainability, Seplat Energy Plc, Dr. Chioma Nwachuku, who represented the Chief Executive Officer/ Executive Director, Seplat Energy Plc, Roger Brown, said the firm had supported 214 teachers from Edo and Delta states with empowerment opportunity to promote and enhance coordination and delivery in the teaching profession.
She said the firm, through the STEP Award ceremony, had demonstrated its commitment to providing teachers with workshops, skills and innovation as well as technological tools to enhance teaching methods to boost national development.
On his part, Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, said the Federal Government is committed to ensuring education for all, by making education dynamic and nationally relevant and competitive.
