GOVERNOR Godwin Obaseki of Edo State today Tuesday, July 18, condemned the late passage of the budget by the Senate, saying it would destroy the economy.

Obaseki said it was unfair for a state like Edo to pass its budget in December only to wait for another six months for its implementation due to delay in the passage of the national budget.

The governor spoke in Benin City, capital city, while hosting the Clifford Ordia- led Senate committee on Works in the state.

He said the senators should not expect contractors executing projects to do much because the budget was passed during the rainy season.

Besides, the governor appealed to the Senate to create a special fund for construction and maintenance of some key federal roads since the water ways and railways were yet to be fully developed.

The governor said: “You need to earmark certain fund, dedicated resources for some key federal roads and keep the roads open. Our rails and water ways are not developed and such good road maintenance will affect our economic growth positively.

On the failed section of the Benin-Lokoja highway at Ekpoma, Obaseki said he once told the federal comptroller of Works not to return to Benin if the contractors were not mobilised to site.

Earlier, Ordia told the governor that members his committee were in the state to carry out physical assessments of the Lokoja-Benin highway dualisation project.

—  Jul 18, 2017 @ 13:50 GMT