Ismail Abdulazeez Mantu Reporting
Edo State, Nigeria
In a bid to transform the well-being of the people of Edo State, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the upcoming September 21 governorship election, has unveiled a comprehensive manifesto titled “Pathway to Prosperity for All.”
Highlighting his commitment to elevating the lives of Edo residents, Ighodalo’s plan focuses on critical areas such as education, potable water, healthcare, sanitation, and food security.
“The well-being of our people is the most important touch point in our mission to serve Edo people,” said Ighodalo in a copy of the manifestos made available to Truth Live News on Monday.
Ighodalo emphasized that his administration aims to surpass the aspirations of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, and water (SDGs 1 to 6) by the year 2030.
Immediate Hardship Relief:
Addressing the pressing needs of Edo residents, Ighodalo pledged immediate interventions to protect the vulnerable from economic shocks.
“Through the work of the Obaseki administration, Edo state has built a comprehensive database of its people, including the impoverished and vulnerable. Consequently, we will immediately establish short-term social relief and safety net programmes,” he stated. These programs include:
Targeted conditional grants of N20,000 for 50,000 vulnerable citizens for three months.
Conditional monetary interventions for workers in the informal sector.
Food price stabilization initiatives supporting local farmers.
Education:
Ighodalo underscored the transformative power of education in his manifesto, promising significant improvements in the sector. “We will reduce the out-of-school population by 50% annually and recruit, train, and retrain teachers, especially in rural areas,” he pledged. Key initiatives include:
Upgrading existing schools and establishing new institutions.
Incentivizing teachers through housing and retirement benefits.
Adopting international standards for learning outcomes.
Launching an Adopt-A-School Initiative to engage corporate partners.
Healthcare:
Promising to raise the life expectancy of Edo residents, Ighodalo outlined a robust healthcare plan. “We will expand access to affordable healthcare, particularly for workers in the informal sector, market women, and traders,” he said. Highlights of the healthcare plan include:
Enrolling more residents in the Edo Health Insurance Scheme (EdoHIS).
Providing nutrition supplementation packages for nursing mothers.
Improving wages and welfare of healthcare workers.
Deploying mobile primary health clinics across the state.
Offering free healthcare services to the elderly.
Food Security:
To combat escalating food prices, Ighodalo proposed immediate and long-term solutions. “We will invest in food loss and waste solutions and distribute high-yield seed varieties to enhance local production,” he explained. The food security plan involves:
Price interventions for staple foods.
Supporting local smallholder farmers.
Empowering women in agriculture through gender-based cooperative farming.