CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the Edo State September 21st election, Mr. Olumide Akpata, has called for a review of the country’s education curriculum, saying that any child not taught technology in today’s world would be a functional illiterate.
He made the call while speaking to journalists on his programme for the state during his visit to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City, Edo State.
Akpata, who noted the deplorable state of schools in the state, promised to overhaul education in particular and pledged to restore the glory of Ambrose Alli University (AAU), describing the state of the university as a disaster.
He also bemoaned the bad condition of roads across the state and promised to fix them if elected, saying, “We have a problem as far as the roads are concerned. Labour Party is here for the rescue, we have a plan.”
Akpata who gave the monthly internal revenue and federal allocation of the state as N16 billion and debt profile as N600 billion, described the building of a museum by the state government as a misplaced priority, just as he also described government investment in a five-star hotel as error of judgment.
He said his administration would put the people at the centre of governance, adding that currently the people have been taken out of the governance equation.
The LP candidate also promised to revamp the health sector and build healthcare centres in the 192 wards of the state to provide quality healthcare for the people, saying that after eight years, Governor Godwin Obaseki has no legacy project to show.
He expressed his support for local government autonomy, saying that it augurs for development because it is closer to the people but insisted that local government chairman and councillors must be domiciled in their local government areas.
Akpata while extolling the role of journalists in nation-building, called on them to continue in that spirit and help lift the country which he said was currently on its knees.
