Kingsley Abavo (Managing Editor),
Benin
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan 
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has poured encomium on Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki for his visionary Leadership in governance.
The former President on Wednesday, 13 June, 2024 praised the Governor while speaking at the official opening ceremony of the rebuilt State Secretariat.
This type of secretariat is not common in Nigeria; it is one of the best he said, adding that humans need to work in a comfortable environment.
The employment of first class graduates in the State was another testament of the visionary Leadership of the Governor Godwin Obaseki's led administration, Jonathan noted.
"If you go to some States, Governors are busy encouraging criminals because of politics; people who will rig election for them; snatch ballot boxes, carry knives, cutlasses and guns to pursue people.
"But contrarily Obaseki is encouraging the brains of Edo State. The brains don't come from one political party, the brains come from all the political parties; so you are not supporting these brains because you want to win elections but because you want to build a State and for you to build a State, you have to build the people.
"So I have to sincerely appreciate that vision!"
Commending the Obaseki administration on the salary increase of civil servants in the State to the sum of N70,000, he noted;" ...that is the work of a visionary."
"To be a political leader at all levels, you must be someone who has a vision and not just aspiring to occupy the office and not knowing what to do with it.
"If you have a vision, no matter how challenging, you must find a way to do it. That is why you are the President, that is why you are the Governor, that is why you are the Chairman of the local Government Council."
So it is good to have a leader like Obaseki, he stated.
The former President enjoined the young ones to emulate the first class graduates the government of Obaseki have employed.
"A new era is coming when you will get a job based on what is in your head so you must take your study very seriously."
Congratulating the people of the State, Governor and the government of Obaseki, Jonathan prayed that the government that will take over the reins of power will not derail from the already established good foundation.
Earlier in his address, Governor Obaseki asserted that the official opening of the State Secretariat was a showcasing of one of the many accomplishments of his administration in the area of institution building.
"It is not just a transformation of an edifice but it represents what we want the future of our City and our State to look like.
"It is not just an edifice, it represents how we want to run our affairs in Edo now, and into the future by prioritizing what matters most; productivity, efficiency and excellence!"
The Governor said the edifice was a reflection of his administration's investment in the rebuilding of institutions; in the last seven and half years.
Adding; that it was a painstaking process which includes a total overhaul of how the State's public service operates.
"We have now built a workforce that will drive change and advancement in pursuit of the core values of our democracy and good governance."
He recalled; the Secretariat complex was in a bad state and an eye sore; not good enough to be a work place when he assumed office in 2016.
"That day I made a pledge to them, (workers ) myself and my God that I will rebuild the infrastructure of this secretariat.
"Block D was a total carcass and the treasury house was just at the foundation which had been covered by thick bush. When we started the project on these buildings, many people did not see the bigger picture. But today, it is clear what we have done!"
Obaseki asserts that the Secretariat is one of the most advanced in the country, with almost 24 hours power supply daily from the 95MW Ossiomo power plant, and fitted with high speed optic internet connectivity.
"We have done all of these because we believe Government bureaucracy must work, and if we must make progress as a State.
"If we have to continue to attract the private sector investment which we require to develop Edo State, it is important we must upgrade the work place, personality and capacity of the public servant and the public service.
"This is why we have damn the consequences to upgrade our services and infrastructure, to global standards."
He further asserts that what is obtained at the secretariat is replicated at five other locations across the City of Benin; the education hub, agriculture hub, the built environment hub, and the power hub.
"This is to enable our civil servants to provide more efficient service to our people," the Governor declared.
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