Benin — Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole recently celebrated his one year in office amidst pomp and ceremony. Although, he has always claimed that his administration is unusual, he continues to do the things in government which we all condemn. For instance, he expended public funds on the jamboree that lasted for about three days (November 12 -14, 2009), all in the name of one-year celebration.

Simply put, it was business as usual in Benin City, the venue of the celebration of Oshiomhole's one year of impotence and misuse of public funds meant for infrastructure development. Consider: Oshiomhole claimed to have rehabilitated 32 roads in Benin City in the last one year, but the State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has quickly faulted this claim.

The Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih had, at a press conference in Benin on Sunday, November 15, asked: "where are the roads?" He had declared: "He (Oshiomhole) has (only) patched 32 spots." If, indeed, only the potholes on the roads were patched and passed for massive rehabilitation of roads, then it raises the question of sincerity and moral credibility in government. This and other questions that Orbih raised are issues to which Oshiomhole should avert his mind.

Indeed, in moment of self-interrogation, Oshiomhole should ask himself whether or not he has been wholesomely prudent and accountable with the funds belonging to the people of Edo State. Besides, he should answer frequently-asked-questions by the generality of the people within and outside the State on the service delivery capacity of his administration rather than on his penchant for cheap political popularity.

Oshiomhole would have stunned the opposition and watchers of his administration, if he had not joined the bandwagon of self adulators in government who adopt the strategy of climbing to the rooftop to proclaim some achievements. Unfortunately for him, what is on ground does not justify expenditure of earned internally generated revenue, receipted allocations from the Federation Account and the Excess Crude Account.

But in a bid, perhaps, to appeal to popular sentiments and draw from the vast pool of goodwill that gullible Nigerians are wont to give public office holders who are sweet-talkers, Oshiomhole had deployed the instrumentality of state funds to orchestrate a platform for exaggerating his profile of performance in the face of the obvious realities of non-performance on the ground in the State.

He had wished to use the respected Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, to give an endorsement of his administration as a performing one; but on Thursday, November 12, Soyinka, speaking as a guest lecturer at an event to mark the one year anniversary in office, had ignored the issue of governance in Edo State and limited himself to the issue of credible electoral test.

Soyinka had spoken on a topic: "Electoral Integrity Begets Governance Integrity," wherein he declared that the electoral process, whatever form it took, was a kind of qualifying test; he stressed that all intending candidates for elections should take a test of performance and responsibility to determine their suitability for the office they seek. He said that electoral test must be held sacrosanct and that the best test for candidates for an election were the electorate, who were the ultimate decision makers.

The Nobel laureate further said that certain critical tests had not been carried out by those saddled with national responsibilities, with the resultant grave consequences for the nation. He insisted that the choice of candidates for election should be based on their capacity to perform. Hear him: "Only those who have undergone the necessary test should be invested with governance at all levels of moral authority and practical competence."

Perhaps, inadvertently, Soyinka was ramming the truth down Oshiomhole's throat. The question then arises: has Oshiomhole really undergone the necessary test? If he has, his performance thus far should attest to that.

But from the counterclaims by the opposition PDP in the State, it appears that Oshiomhole has merely been deploying a surfeit of propaganda in statecraft to mask and divert his seeming poor performance. It is only when he satisfactorily addresses the issues raised in the PDP press conference that he would be deemed to be above board in the administration of Edo State finances.

For instance, Oshiomhole claimed that he had rehabilitated 32 urban roads in the State; that he had been demarcating and planting flowers at the Ring Road; that he had employed 3,500 workers in the State; and, that he had improved the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) with about 300 percent. But the PDP has faulted all these claims.

Edo State PDP Chairman, Dan Orbih, had given some confetti of counterclaims. And for the purpose of fairness, the counterclaims have been reduced to a set of questions for Oshiomhole to answer: Oshiomhole's claim to have massively rehabilitated 32 roads cannot be true. 32 roads within a period of less than 12 months, most of which was in the raining season?

Oshiomhole must be a magician of some sort. In any case, where are these roads that have been rehabilitated? What is the priority in choosing road demarcation, planting of flowers and demolition of the structures of the poor masses (without compensation) in the name of beautification of the Ring Road?

Is it true that an average of ten families is displaced in Benin City every day? Are the remunerations of the 3,500 workers that Oshiomhole claimed to have been employed in agreement with their qualifications and with the civil services regulations? Sadly, a majority of the newly employed workers have been forced on Local Government Councils which now carry the burden of their salaries and allowances. Is the planting of flowers, shrubs and curbs at the Ring Road and putting flower beds at Akpakpava Road worth the N1.2 billion claimed to be the cost of the project? Is it not on record that the Oserhiemen Osunbor administration estimated that the project would cost N150 million?

Why has the implementation of the N75 billion 2008/2009 budget been less than five percent? How has the N52, 261,810,468: 32 from statutory allocation, internally generated revenue, and special release from the excess crude oil account, been expended?

Some more questions: Will the six-lanes for the Airport Road come to fruition or is it just a political speak? Also, will the six-lanes of Benin - Ugbowo - Lagos Road, materialize? Is it true that Oshiomhole organized and mobilized students to harass the State House of Assembly in order to pass the N75 billion budget in the period under review? Did he make any provision for these two roads in the budget he submitted to the State Legislature? Why did the issue become the bone of contention between him and the House of Assembly? Was it not because the roads were not provided for in the budget?

Yet, some further posers! Is it not sheer waste of public funds to spend N2.5 Billion on resurfacing Ekewan road Junction of Siluko road, when less than N50 million is sufficient to fix the only failed portion of the road? What is the Oshiomhole Government doing about the most important segment of the road-between Textile Mill road junction and Egor Market section, which requires urgent intervention?

Perhaps, the verdict of the PDP may be considered to be partisan and oppositional, but is physical and infrastructure development not measurable or assessable? Since this is the case, what significant changes and development have been effected in Edo South Senatorial District of the State on which Oshiomhole pledged to expend the bulk of the 2008/2009 budget?

Is it a case of political deception and governance by stealth as the Bini-speaking people of the State are now mostly victims of the government demolition of their homes and business premises? Is the Government paying the victims compensation or providing them with alternative structures or arrangements?

How salutary to the generality of the people is the imposition of a harsh regime of taxation that has further impoverished the poor masses, petty traders and lower level public servants? Is the accrual from taxation being properly managed and channeled into the building of infrastructure or is it being used to take care of some officials of government and political interests?

Overall, does the Oshiomhole administration have the capacity to redeem the sagging image of the state? Or, is the governor's demonstrated capacity only for talking, agitating and deploying propaganda? Oshiomhole is in a position to answer these posers which are evident in the PDP's counterclaims; and, only time will prove right or wrong the verdict of disaster in the administration of the State which is inherent in the party's position as articulated by its State Chairman (Orbih).