Help All Widows In Edo State” – Group Appeals To Governor Oshiomhole

A popular human rights group, Spaces for Change
has called on the governor of Edo State, Adams
Oshiomhole to change his approach to poverty
alleviation in the state .
This is coming weeks after the governor was video
tapped telling a widow, Mrs Joy Ifijeh, a street trader
to go and die.
In a statement, the group said the incident showed a
big disconnection between the governor and Edo
state citizens.
The Executive Director of Spaces for Change, Mrs.
Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, said though commendable,
Oshiomhole's gesture of offering the widow,
employment and N2m after the incident was "clearly
an afterthought, mainly designed to contain the
mounting public censure."
"This Greek gift does not in any way address the
bigger issues of widespread poverty and street
trading in Benin City nor does it serve as an effective
deterrent to future offenders. He should instead,
seize the opportunity to rethink and redesign the
state's poverty alleviation approaches, ensuring that
programmes and services that directly benefit poor
citizens are put in place. The state should build on
the momentum to develop social security and
support-based programmes for enhancing access of
low-income groups or individuals to credit or other
economic opportunities," she stated.
She further said:
"From Lagos to Port Harcourt, to Benin to the Federal
Capital Territory, the development trends are similar.
Elitist policies and programmes that make life
unbearable for the poor are churned out every day,
with emphasis skewed towards urban beautification
even if it is at the price of massive social dislocation
and suffering. The governors seem to derive pleasure
from addressing symptoms of urban decay, but don't
give a damn about the causative factors."

Sent From David Aniemeka