By Ogochukwu Isioma
A Benin-based legal practitioner, Greg Ewah Esq., has berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State for spreading falsehoods and mischievous propaganda in an attempt to distract from the globally-recognized achievements of Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki in the state’s education sector through the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EDOBEST) 2.0 Programme.
In a statement, Ewah stressed that Governor Obaseki’s towering achievement has continued to haunt the APC and its chieftains after they squandered their chance to revamp the state’s education sector when they were in office.
He added that the accolades and international recognition received by the governor from the World Bank and other notable institutions are testament to the fact that the reforms in the state meet global standards.
According to him: “It is indeed shameful that even when the Edo State Governor was the only Nigerian representation and indeed the only subnational invited by the World Bank to share insights on how the state expertly utilized public funds to transform public education, the APC is fuming in the mouth.
“The party’s minion, John Mayaki, who was sent on the errand to disparage the governor’s errand is an expired and disgraced journalist, who was sacked by the governor over 7 years ago as Interim Chief Press Secretary because of his incompetence and shady dealings.
“Mayaki’s claims are patently false and mischievous. It is obvious that he has become obsessed with the governor after his unceremonious sack. He has now found a new career of spreading lies for instant gratification from the opposition and enemies of the Governor Obaseki-led administration. His attacks cannot change the progress recorded in the reforms of the state’s education sector.”
Ewah noted that it was disgraceful for Mayaki to take the childish route to call on the World Bank to crosscheck claims by the governor, when in fact, the World Bank has been a part of the reform process in the state from the onset.
According to him: “Mayaki’s tirade shows that he and his paymasters in the APC do not understand the inner workings of governance and would continue to disgrace themselves publicly. It is common knowledge that the World Bank is one of the biggest supporters of the EdoBEST 2.0 programme and have been following up with the reforms from the onset. Pray tell, how will the Bank not conduct due diligence all these years to know exactly what is going on.”
He added that EdoBEST 2.0 has caused a digital revolution in Edo Schools and is a model programme for Nigeria, noting: “Several States have visited Edo State to understudy the success of the programme. In fact, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at a public event, said he is not ashamed to admit that he copied a successful model for education reform from Edo State.”
