Governor Godwin Obaseki at weekend said his administration had earmarked N6 billion for the execution of development programmes across the 24 constituencies of Edo State.

The governor, in a statement, reassured that the projects to be executed in partnership with members of the State House of Assembly would further bring development closer to the people and improved their living standard.

His words: “My dear citizens and residents of Edo State, as you are aware, our focus and emphasis in the last three years have been to improve your living conditions and make you more productive. We are improving the education system and emphasising technical education, improving access to quality healthcare, creating opportunities for businesses to thrive, providing more jobs and investing in infrastructure.

“We are also committed to bringing development closer to everyone through the Constituency Development Programme, which will run in partnership with members of the State House of Assembly. That is why in the 2020 appropriation, we have earmarked that the sum of N250 million will be spent directly in each of the 24 constituencies in Edo State.

“Even though we have achieved successes in many of our policy areas, we still have a long way to go. From our experience so far, we are convinced that although the challenges are daunting, as a people and government, we can significantly change our circumstances and place Edo State and indeed our country where they should be in Africa.”

Obaseki, who assured that his administration would continue to exploit new opportunities to diversify the state’s economy and make it more competitive and efficient, said revolutionary steps had taken on basic education.

He went on: “The net result is that over 300,000 children in our public schools not only just go to school but they now learn when in school. Our goal is that when a child goes through the first nine years of learning in the Edo State School System, he/she will have acquired the basics to achieve success in life.

“We are pleased with our achievements in primary healthcare, which is the foundation of any healthcare system. Under our Edo State Health Improvement Programme (Edo-HIP), we have revamped and remodelled over 20 pilot primary healthcare centres across the 18 local governments in the state and we have also implemented our pilot health insurance scheme. This year, we will commence a rapid rollout of both initiatives.”

The governor further said: “In three years, we have created more than 157,000 jobs directly and indirectly and have also prioritised solution-focused skills and development programmes.”