Large protests and discontent look to mar seven years of Adams Oshiomhole as governor of Edo state.
His governorship of the state hits the seven-year mark on November 12, and enters its last lap before elections are due next year.
But protests by civil society groups swelled through the capital on Monday over policies Oshiomhole government has introduced and pushed in the last seven years.
They described the policies as harsh and pushing more people into poverty.
They range from taxes and loans to state debt and school fees.
Saw it coming
Edo state government saw the protests coming, citing “intelligence” information.
A day before the protest it issued a warning that “some political thugs operating under the guise of civil society groups and students of some tertiary institutions have concluded plans to cause public disturbance and nuisance starting from tomorrow Monday, November 8, 2015 in Benin City.”
“This is to put the general public on the alert to be wary of such ill-conceived, politically-motivated and needless protest aimed at causing breach of public peace,” it said.
Police was on guard, saying it didn’t know the real motive of the planned demonstrations, but that its preliminary investigations showed the protests may be “may be remotely connected” to the alleged increase in school fees with tertiary institutions in the South-South geo-political zone, according to a statement by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abdulkadir Mohammed.
Taxation
Edo has a huge tax problem, and it’s been there since before Oshiomhole. But his government toed the line of Lagos, a state run heavily on taxes.
The property tax law, which charges for land use, imposes taxes on land property throughout the state.
As a bill, it had a rough ride through the state assembly and was denounced roundly.
Osagie Idemudia, secretary of Edo Unity Club, Lagos said: “Rather than further enlighten the public on the bill by holding the promised public hearing, the parliament went to sleep and to the chagrin of the people of Edo State, woke up one unfortunate morning and railroaded the bill through the third reading and final passage, thus dealing a fatal blow on democracy and the much-trumpeted slogan of the Oshiomhole administration: “Let the people lead”.
The law has since sparked its fair share of discontent, including protests by tipper lorry drivers in September.
Fees
Hike in tuition has been a sore point in Edo state, home to some of the most educated, elitist Nigerians.
A major industry in Edo is education—followed by churches—much of it private run.
But government-run schools, especially tertiary institutions, make the news with protests about tuition hike.
In 2010, more than 2000 students of the state-owned Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma took to the streets to protests hikes in tuition that would see full-time students pay N76,000, up from N26,000, and part-time students pay N100,000, up from N30,000.
A separate protest on Monday was over similar hike that could raise tuition as high as N125,000 at the school.
It is a revenue source for the government which needs money to run. But Edo doesn’t have the companies and corporations that Lagos has.
The brunt of government taxation falls on parents, and increasing their tax profile is dicey.
The state Inland Revenue Service disclosed in May that only 141,000 of the more than 4 million people in Edo state pay their taxes.
He spoke of a committee, including all council chairmen, to clear all illegal and dubious collection of rates, levies and taxes, as well as barricades on highways where “innocent Nigerians are forced to part with their money through intimidation thus giving the state a bad name.”
Debts
“We are concerned about the overall debt profile of the state,” said Olu Martins, executive director of Canvassers for Democracy and Rule of Law, at a briefing in Benin City.
“If you have any history, you will Edo state ranks second among debtor states, second only to Lagos state. A few months ago, Edo state ranked third, where it was Lagos, Cross River and Edo.”
The briefing, in conjunction with the Talakawas Parliament, centred on Oshiomhole’s style of governance.
It came amid quest for Senate approval for the second tranche of a $75 million loan for Edo from the World Bank.
The first of three tranches went to Edo in 2013, and since then its spending has raised questions about “bogus and highly inflated projects like the Airport Road and the Central Hospital,” according to Martins.
“I have asked, exactly how much is the Central Hospital costing? If you borrow money and you are not blocking leakages, it is tantamount to putting water in a basket.”
Kola Edokpayi of the Talakawa Parliament talks of Benin City’s roads being “suffocating” despite spending on construction.
Godwin Erhahon, secretary of Oshiomhole’s APC party in the state, insists the government is “spending the money of this state judiciously” citing long-running gully erosion site at Queen Ede Girls Secondary School, road renovation and construction and the state-owned Central Hospital.
It has been quick to point to any development in Edo being financed by borrowed money, Dan Owegie, an APC chief, wrote in the state-owned Nigerian Observer to mark Oshiomhole’s seven years in office.
“What is important is the productive and prudent use of the money borrowed which everyone in the state can see,” Owegie said.
Political capital and suicide
Oshiomhole took office in 2008, after an elections tribunal sacked the PDP government of Oserheimen Osunbor. He rode the wave of popular rejection of PDP and basked in his image as a former president of the Nigerian Labour Congress.
With one year to go, daily grind of life in Edo has become political capital for the PDP—looking to wrest power from APC next year—and more like political suicide for APC.
Edo has taken tips from Lagos, but dropped the ball somehow, analysts said on the radio talk show Political Platform Tuesday morning.
Lagos set up independent electricity supply to power businesses, which in turn hired people, said one analyst.
Edo doesn’t have nearly enough industrial clout and in-work population to make a comparable tax base, but it has a lot of young people not working, and increasing fees could jeopardize their education.
It is a matter of good intention and wrong timing.
Edos are ready to pull out their voter cards next year, and the PDP is likely to capitalize on their concerns. But the APC doesn’t look set to reverse itself into some good will, looking instead to claim developments it has spurred in the last seven years.
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