Obaseki Receives Atiku in Benin, as Presidential Aspirant Pledges to Prioritise Education

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Friday, received a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who was on the visit to seek the support of the governor and PDP delegates ahead of the PDP primary election.

The governor received the presidential aspirant and former Vice President, along with his entourage at the Government House, Benin City.

Atiku, while soliciting the governor’s support, said if elected, he will prioritize investment in education.

He said, “Investment in education is key for me and if you can recall what the PDP government did then in power, we created TETFUND, primary school education fund, and education tax to enable us provide sufficient money for both state and local governments to enable them have sufficient money to invest in primary and secondary education.

”We also passed the law to make education compulsory for every Nigerian child from primary to secondary school.”

Atiku, however, decried that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressive Congress (APC) government misappropriated the fund, adding, “This affected the level of education, and today the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria is higher.”

On zoning, he noted, “We said in future, zoning decisions should be taken in six months before the commencement of primaries so it will be settled before anything else. The PDP is the originator of zoning and power rotation. Now that it is open, all aspirants have equal opportunities.”

Atiku said he will sit with the party to agree on a running mate for the 2023 presidential election.