The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government is building stronger institutions to restore the state’s lost glory and reposition it for sustainable growth and development.
Obaseki stated this when he received members of the panel for the appointment of principal officers into the Edo State College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, who were on a courtesy visit, at the Government House, Benin City.
The governor noted that “to restore Edo to its God’s given position in the country and in the subcontinent, there are certain things we need to do. We have to build institutions to build human capacity to explore and exploit our national resources.”
According to him, “That is why we carefully selected the people who will now select those to run the institutions for us. I pray that our people now realize that there are certain things that we don’t play politics with. You don’t play politics with the future of your children.
“We believe that when we have a proper renewal of our institutions and begin to train our naturally-endowed young people in this country, they will dominate this subcontinent as they have always done.” Reassuring the team of his support, the governor said, “I want to assure you that whatever you come up with, which I trust will be professional and well-considered; that is what we will go with.”
He continued: “We are politicians; yes, we know that we need to give things back to our supporters, but not this way. We need to build institutions. “We are working with international institutions to make sure that this school becomes a centre to train extension workers, because you cannot have a viable agricultural industry in this country without well-trained and motivated agriculture extension workers.”
“I am hoping that this institution becomes the school of excellence for that. Please, have that in mind as you consider the candidates, because that is one thing that we are passionate about,” Obaseki charged.
Earlier, Prof. Kolade Ayorinde, who is head of the panel, assured the governor that the team would put in their best in ensuring that the best candidates are recommended for his consideration for appointment as principal officers for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.