BENIN
CITY-GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state, Monday, gave the sum of N2million
to Madam Joy Oviengbede Ifije, the widow whom the Governor carpeted last
week for blocking the walkways along Mission Road with her goods.
Besides,
the governor and his family gave scholarship Bright Ifije, the son of the widow
in his education in order to help the family. The N2million was given to her to
a rent a shop and set up a business so as to resist the temptation of selling
along the walkways in future.
Oshiomhole
and the family of the widow reconciled Monday during a breakfast meeting, where
the governor reiterated his earlier apology to the woman following his outburst
at her, which he confessed was as a result of anger from the way traders and
drivers are frustrating the state government’s efforts to beautify Benin City.
Madam
Ifije who knelt down to express her gratitude to the governor, said her actions
on the said day was not intentional and pledged to join the state government in
its campaign to ensure sanity and orderliness in the city.
While
addressing Madam Ifije who was accompanied to Government House by her sister
Patience Ajayi and the landlord, Mr Omobude Osakpanwa, Oshiomhole said he was
sincerely sorry for the uncomplimentary words he used against the widow, adding
that it was as a result of his passion to see that sanity returns in the city.
According
to him, “my anger was that when I saw you blocking the road I said if your
blocking the road do you want people to be killed and you said you are a widow
and I said if you want other people to be killed. I am sure you know that we
don’t want accidents on our roads and that was why we built the walk ways so
that pedestrians will have their way and vehicles will have their way.
“Because
we still find people abandon the markets to come and sale on the walkways
blocking the road and you find out that the expansion that we have done, some
time out of six lanes you find out that only two are functioning. They just
block one of the roads, while buses will block another part of the road and
there will be serious traffic.
“
I am doing my best to see that we make Benin City a beautiful city that it was
before. You see, when you send a lot of money, government money to try and
beautify the city, to build roads and all that, you find the roads are not
working, I get very angry. The second issue is that when you put your goods on
the roads, the buses can run into you or like those that sales tomatoes or
pepper, those things can be contaminated because of the exposure which is not
good.
“That
was why I said to you if you are a widow do you want more people to be widows,
but when I said go and die, I was really touched that I said that to you
because I understand that looking at you, you are struggling but I was really
angry but I realized that even at anger I can achieve the same result without
talking to you the way that I did.
“Though
I apologize to you from the bottom of my heart because even my own daughters
they have been harassing me on your behalf. I was really angry that day because
I was going round and I found out that a lot of things were wrong and it was a
pity that that anger, that aggression was transferred to you and I hope you
forgive me” he stated.
He
further urged the widow to “assist me to talk to traders first to keep our
roads clean, not to block on roads so that people walking, people walking can
have the roads free. The state government will employ you to do this job for us
and we will give you all the assistance you need”
-Vanguard
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