On July 24, 2024 Asue Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie held a town hall meeting with stakeholders in Benin to mobilize votes for their party, PDP.

Speaking on the occasion, Asue Ighodalo the governorship candidate promised, "to build on the wind of change of Obaseki."

Big figurative grammar again by PDP people.

What he is simply saying is that godson Asue Ighodalo will continue the policies, programmes and uncompleted projects of the godfather Obaseki because they are good!!

Let us take a focal look at one of these Obaseki's policies of giving Edo people bad road intrastructure.

On July 26, 2024 a man called into the Rhythm FM Radio, Benin morning programme of Mr Maxwell Omo Osagie. Firstly, he identified himself and location. Then, he began angrily to condemn the poor state of roads even in Benin Metropolis, the state capital.

Immediately, the caller was interrupted with a warm friendliness by Maxwell who advised him to postpone the road discourse to another day that would entirely be devoted to the painful subject. He briefly narrated his own agonizing experiences with bad roads in the city and said he was reserving them for that appointed day.

Too true, Edo State including Benin Metropolis has a sad story of roads to tell because Obaseki is pathologically fixated to a policy of giving Edo people poor roads conceptualized, planned, constructed, rehabilitated and completed at his own predetermined cost, mushroom quantity, snail speed and standardized poor quality.

That is why Obaseki PDP Roads since 2016 till date are of inferior, Taiwan quality which don't last unlike APC OSHIOMOLE ROADS!! The difference is as clear between daylight and darkness. Khaki no be leather at all.

Despite the glaring deficiencies of OBASEKI ROADS, the PDP governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie are saying that they will continue such a road policy if voted into power.

In contrast, APC candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo and Dennis Idahosa have vowed to discontinue OBASEKI ROADS and give Edo people durable, well-built roads that reduce frequency to Uselu Spare Parts Market and mechanic workshops.

So, isn't the APC the obvious choice? Abi suffer no day tire you voters to day repair una motor as things hard today like dis foŕ country man and woman?

PDP propagandists may argue that Asue Ighodalo will change the Obaseki policy on roads. Lies. There is zero probability he would do so.

Why? Obaseki is Asue Ighodalo and Asue Ighodalon is Obaseki. Inseparable siamese twins with the same entrepreneurial DNA. Both of them in addition are very intimate friends, very close business associates and mutual confidants with the same mindset, spiritual and emotional intelligence. Hence, they have been bosom pals since the Oshiomole years as governor in Edo State when Obaseki was chairman of his Economic Strategy Team.

When Obaseki later became governor in 2016, their ties was upgraded. Hardened!

Invariably, Asue Ighodalo can be said to share the habits, values, norms, morality and idiosyncracies of Obaseki. So; don't be conned. He endorses the road policies of Obaseki. Thus, he will certainly continue with it in visible reality or in invisible discreet disguise if he succeeds Obaseki. Yes, He will be a faithful godson to godfather Obasèki.

The result is that during the governorship of Asue Ighodalo, the PDP bad road policy of Obaseki will continue as it was in the beginning.

If you want specifics about OBASEKI ROADs, let us listen to these voices of commentators far back in 2019. Indeed, Obaseki started to give suffering Edo people bad, unsafe roads long ago.

Pa Ugiagbe, for instance, in a Man Around Town/ independent Radio, Benin programme of January 11, 2019 observed: "Obaseki is only primarily interested in quantity of roads not the quality of roads"

On the same day, Shadow from St. Saviour Area of Benin phoned into a public discussion programme of Speed FM, Bènìn. He complained that St. Saviour Road that is being rebuilt is narrower.

On June 12, 2018 a civil activist, Mr. Omo Osifo, noted with anguish in a call to Speed FM, Benin that the contractor handling the same St. Saviour Road is doing a bad job. Much more, there is no provision made by Obaseki for gutters to help evacuate flood water from the road during a downpour.

Prophetically, there was heavy rains from July 25 to 28, 2019 that wrecked untold havoc in St. Saviour Area.

A resident there phoned into Man Around Town/Independent Radio, Benin programme to report that he and other residents met the contractor.

They wanted to know why he was not building gutters to take flood to the nearby Ikpoba River. The contractor replied that the job description did not make a specification for gutters. Impliedly, the road won't last while flood will continue to ravage St. Saviour Road, its environs as well as houses and other properties.

On June 12, 2019 the critic Omo Osifo, did not only talk about the unsatisfactory work culture on St. Saviour Road, Benin. In a phone call to Speed FM on June 17, 2019 he also lambasted Obaseki for the poor state of Limit Road, Benin few months after spending tax payers money to rehabilitate it.

On September 2, 2019 someone phoned into 'A Beg You' programme of Radio Bronze, Benin saying that it is not poor supervision that results in roads degenerating quickly.

His words: "It is wrong to say that the non-supervision of roads in Edo is the reason for them going bad so quickly after construction or repair. For instance, I saw workers of the ministries of Infrastructure and environment supervising Limit Road, Benin. Yet, the road was peeling while it was being rehabilitated."

Omobude Agho, a human rights activist and founding member of Edo Civil Society Organizations (EDOCSO), an umbrella body of civil society groups in the state was on EBS, Benin' programme on June 27, 2019 during which he spoke on several challenges in Edo State.

In one of his submissions, he stated: "After the rains of June 25 and 26, 2019 about 30 houses were flooded on Erediauwa Road, Benin off Sapele Road, that was recently rehabilitated. Poor work is responsible for the disaster. Even the road is already peeling."

A man phoned into Area Parliament programme of Rhythm Radio, Benin on October 10, 2019 complaining about Aguobasinwin Road, Benin
Listen to him: "Godfather, wonders never end. You may not believe this. But it is true. Aguobasonwin has gone bad two weeks after it was rehabilitated by Obasekl."

Pemperempe, a roving crew member of Man Around Town programme/ Independent Radio, Benin on July 29, 2019 noted: "Obaseki should wake up and see that most of the roads rehabilitated in Benin Metropolis not long ago, including the road behind Ogbemudia Stadium, are in bad shape already."

On August 1, 2019 angry Pemperempe again said: "All the roads being rehabilitated or earlier on reconstructed by Obaseki are a washed out. They don't last. Go and check now that the rains have come. All have gone bad. But look at Uwa Road near Ogbemudia House done by former Governor Oshìomole. It is still good about 8 years after the road was built."

From the 2019 road sample chosen in this article; you can see that Obaseki woefully failed Edo people in road management.

He has continued his road failure till date. Infact, on July 29, 2024 a crew member of Man Around Town programme on Independent Radio, Benin, Mr Desmond Okhionkpanmwonyi reported that Obaseki has abandoned work on 19th Street in Ugbowo axis of Benin Metropolis.

Yes, the truth is that Obaseki characteristically does not only build poor roads that are delivered at millipede speed, he also has a knack for abandoning road projects.

Therefore, when Asue Ighodalo says that he will continue Obaseki's policies he is simply promising to continue to give Edo State citizens poor road infrastructure.

Don't, therefore, waste your votes on him. Give them to APC and Senator Monday Okpebholo and Dennis Idahosa. When the two righteous men are in office, Edo people will rejoice.

The unrighteousness of a continuity agenda of Asue ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie will only bring more doom to Edo State kickstarted by the PDP and Obaseki.