Just In : Canadian Police Officer Joins Governorship Race
Ogbemudia Bassey Osagie, an Edo-born Canadian Police officer and an aspirant from the Labour Party for the 2024 Edo State governorship election, has pledged to establish a comprehensive security framework around the state to foster an environment conducive to investment.
Highlighting his over 24 years of experience as a staff sergeant in the Toronto police and emphasizing his Edo heritage, Osagie expressed confidence in his ability to ensure the security of the state and attract investors.
During a discussion with journalists in Benin on Thursday, Osagie emphasized that many Edo indigenes who own significant businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other locations are eager to invest in the state. However, concerns about insecurity have deterred them.
The aspirant, having worked abroad for many years, shared his decision to return to his home state and apply his extensive experience for its benefit.
He said: “I have had the privilege to serve the people of Toronto. That same ethical value, that accountability, that transparency, that mindset that you need to do something good for your people is what I have brought to Edo State.
“What I am going to do as Edo State governor is to bring Toronto to Edo State so that we can start to see progress. Our people need change.
“Our major priority is security. Without security, there cannot be success; there cannot be economic development. You need an efficient and effective law enforcement agency to keep people in check. These are my vision for Edo State.
“All our people I consulted in the US, Canada and the UK claim they cannot come and set up their factories because the state is not secured. We have many of our people who own big pharmaceutical companies and others, but they said they can’t come home because our state is not secure.
“So, as an international security expert, I will build a security dragnet around Edo State so that our people in the diaspora will start coming home to invest. Trust me, I have served in the white security for years, but the whites will not come and fix our security for us. We will fix it. We are going to persuade our people to come and invest.
“We will create the enabling environment for industries to flourish in Edo State. We have mineral resources, but we have no industries. What I am going to do is to build factories so that we can be able to produce instead of consume,” he said.
While promising to build the youths of Edo by making sure they acquire modern technologies, he promised to give farmers soft loans so that there could be food security.
“We need to go back not only to secure our farmland but farming. We will give our farmers some funding. There are a lot of young men who want to go into farming, we need to give them loans. That way, we will reduce food insecurity in Edo State and Nigeria in general,” he added.
He also promised to fix all roads in the state and give 24-hour electricity.
He said: “During my tenure as governor, God willing, there will be no federal road. Any road that my people drive belongs to us, and we will not leave it to collapse.
He added: “No country can develop without electricity. You can’t have a factory without electricity. What I am going to do as governor is to look into the power problem and solve it. We plan to provide 24-hour electricity to our people. It is not rocket science. If the companies we have in Nigeria cannot do it, I will bring Canadian Hydro to look into our power structure and fix the electricity challenge.”
