Toba Owojaiye reporting
Benin City.
Edo State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Osilama J. Okuofu, has outlined the government’s commitment to ensuring a lasting legacy beyond Governor Obaseki’s tenure.
Hon Okuofu stated this on Wednesday during an exclusive interview on Moment of Truth, an online political programme by Truth Live News broadcast on its YouTube channel and other social media handles.
He emphasized the intent to leave a 30-year development plan as a guiding document for future administrations.
“One thing we believe and are going to strive for is that by the time we leave office, [we aim] to bequeath to the Edo people a 30-year development plan which has reached a very advanced stage.”
Highlighting the critical role of planning, Hon Osilama stressed, “A plan is an action guide, something that will help facilitate development, ways of doing things. We probably would have been able to achieve far more than we have done now.”
“The foundation that has been laid down is sustained,” he added, expressing the government’s dedication to preserving the progress made during their tenure.
To ensure the plan’s enduring impact, Hon Okuofu underlined the necessity of instilling the will to uphold it, making it more than a mere document: “A working document as it were, so that the foundation that has been laid down is sustained.”
While discussing the broader topic of leadership succession, Okuofu drew parallels with global examples, citing Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore as a model. “I am not saying Obaseki will put his son, but we hope that with the legal document, we will bequeath someone of the same mould, like the current governor.”
While emphasizing a desire for continuity, Okuofu outlined the characteristics sought in a successor, stating, “Someone who understands business, someone who understands how deals are struck, someone who is deft in the boardroom, someone who can negotiate good governance for the good of Edo people.”
He emphasized that the envisioned successor is not merely someone seeking the position for its own sake but an individual committed to upholding the people’s mandate: “Not just someone that wants to be governor for the sake of being governor and wasting the people’s mandate”.
Below is the YouTube Link for the full interview…..