US asked to place visa ban on Governor Obaseki over his anti-democratic tendencies

WORLD Bank officials have been called upon by the former chief press secretary to the Edo State government John Mayaki to issue a visa ban against Governor Godwin Obaseki and members of his cabinet over their incessant undemocratic tendencies.

Mr Mayaki, who served as a close aide to the governor but has now become a fervent critic, has frowned at the continuous support offered to the Edo State government by the World Bank. He called on the US to ban the governor and some members of his cabinet from travelling for sponsoring election violence and rigging against the Labour Party and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the recent general elections in the state.

According to Mr Mayaki, the $75m World Bank grant to Governor Obaseki’s administration for education about two years ago was a tacit support for a government that denied and blocked the inauguration of 14 elected Edo State House of Assembly members. He added that Governor Obaseki made sure that the case was never mentioned in court, which he said was undemocratic.

Mr Mayaki said: “The World Bank has sadly continued to give oxygen to an administration that is literally persecuting the opposition in Edo State. It is a sad betrayal of the institution’s values as Governor Obaseki, through violent and abhorrent tactics, has forced a one-man rule in Edo State.

“Through this totalitarian control achieved with violence and flagrant disregard for the constitution, he went on a borrowing spree, racking up loans with neither the approval of the people as would have ordinarily been the case with a functional assembly, nor a transparent account of government expenses, including bogus and inflated contracts awarded to friends and cronies in his elaborate patronage network. He also unilaterally denied representation to representatives of the people in the last state assembly election and granted access to a select few minority, who were willing to surrender the autonomy of the House and bow to his wishes."