The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said his government in the last eight years focused on improving the lives of Edo people, creating opportunities and restoring the hope of the youths of the State.
Obaseki said this at the commissioning of the Edo State College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Iguoriakhi, in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of the state.
He was joined by former governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion; candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for 2024 governorship election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo; the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Marvelous Godwins Omobayo; Chief of Staff, Osaigbovo Iyoha; Head of service (HOS), Anthony Okungbowa, among others.
According to the governor, "In the last 8 years, we have focused on our people, particularly our young people. We had to give them hope because when we came in 2016, our young people wanted to move to other countries and anywhere else except Edo State. At one time in 2017, we had over 30,000 boys and girls in Libya, and many of them died in search of a better life.
"If we have institutions like this that can train them and give them skills, opportunities, and hope, many of them would have been alive."
He continued: "We made a vow to ourselves and God that we would not leave it the way we met it. We have made our mark and done our best. As we wind up, we pray that those that would come after us will continue to build upon what we have done and not take us back.
"The focus of our administration was to create hope and opportunities for our people and to use our resources to develop the State. Our land across the State is fertile and blessed.
"You can't have an impact in agriculture if the government doesn't create meaningful environments for agriculture and investors can't spend resources building infrastructure to their farms because it is government's responsibility.
"As a government, we decided to rebuild all our institutions. From the School of Agriculture, School of Nursing, School of Health Technology, and College of Education, among others. This was to enable us help the younger ones with skills and set them up for the future so that they can live meaningful life."
On the facilities at the institution, Obaseki said, "We have built facilities that can train up to 1,000 students in different specialization. The infrastructure is world-class and can't be compared to that of any University in Nigeria.
"Our purpose is not to produce another set of people with certificates. We have too many people with certificates without skills. The purpose is to give opportunities and skills to anyone who has the opportunity of coming into this institution. You can't come into this institution and leave without skills in agriculture.
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"We have assembled investors, using oil palm as a point of contact with other players in the agricultural space to put in resources in the school.
It's not a political institution as 50 per cent of the governing council of the school is made up of people practicing in the agriculture industry. Just tell us the program you want and we will train the people so that you can employ them."
The governor added, "My dream is for this college to produce the largest number of agricultural extension workers in Nigeria because the biggest challenges to agriculture is support. This is what you see in some countries that have done so well in agriculture."
Earlier, the Edo State Head of Service and Chairman, Special Task Team for the College, Dr. Anthony Okungbowa thanked the governor for the vision that has become a reality with commissioning of the institution.
He stated, "The commissioning of this institution marks another historic milestone for Edo people, particularly for the college which has opened its doors for agricultural research and knowledge for the people. This is the commitment of the future of agriculture."
Presenting his keynote address, Chairman, Leventis Foundation Nigeria, Ahmed Kazalma Mantey represented by Kayode Simeon, commended the governor for the project, adding that it will advance agriculture education and tackle food insecurity.
