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Obaseki decries slavery in Libya, pledges resettlement for returnees

By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City
28 November 2017   |   4:16 am
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki yesterday condemned the on going slavery, particularly on black African immigrants in Libya where humans were being sold for $400.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State

Proposes N140b 2018 budget, assures of timely completion of bus terminals
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki yesterday condemned the on going slavery, particularly on black African immigrants in Libya where humans were being sold for $400.

He said the development, which was recently exposed in a Cable Network News (CNN) documentary, was unacceptable.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie said the governor described the incidence as a desecration of the sanctity on humanity and an evil that must be stopped at all cost.

He advised indigenes of the state, who may have been caught up in the web of human traffickers, to come back home, saying his government has put measures in place to reintegrate them into society.

“I received the news of the incident with shock because it reduces the value of the human to the basest levels. In fact, this takes us back to the age of slave trade, which, I believe, doesn’t have a place in modern society.

“That this is happening shows that many have lost their way. This applies to those who are involved in this trade and those who created the environment for such a dastardly act to thrive,” he said.

In a related development, Obaseki, will tomorrow present a budget proposal of N140 billion for the 2018 fiscal year to the Edo State House of Assembly.

The budget, which is expected to drive growth in all sectors of the state economy, has N74 billion for capital vote while N66.2 billion is proposed for recurrent expenditure.

Obaseki said the budget would boost industrial activities following the implementation of the 2017 budget, which laid the foundation for economic revolution in the state.

Reviewing the activities of the outgoing year, he said: “despite the challenges posed by the economic recession, the state was able to meet its salary and pension obligations to civil servants, constructed several roads across the state and kick-started the development of the N200 billion Benin Industrial Park among other achievements.”

Meanwhile, the state government has assured residents of Benin City of its resolve to complete the construction of designated bus terminals in record time.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Edorodion Erimona, made this known during a media chat with journalists at Government House Benin City.

“The construction of the bus terminals is work in progress even as the government will make good its promise to ensure that the construction is completed in due course.

“This will sustain the ongoing plans to decongest parts of the state capital with heavy vehicular and human traffic,” he said.

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