February 2. 2018

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo says the state government will partner with Federal Government agencies to tackle the menace of human trafficking, illegal migration and modern slavery in the state.

Obaseki stated this on Friday after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He revealed that Edo state government had put in place strategies to tackle human trafficking and illegal migration facing the state.

“I discussed two critical issues that bother us in Edo. One, is the issue of human trafficking and irregular migration.

“As you know it’s a problem with Edo which we have accepted and we have rolled out our strategies to deal with them and we want to work with the federal government and other agencies of government to end this scourge of human trafficking and modern slavery.

“It is against the ethos of humanity for us to accept what is going on with our young people today.

“So, I came to see the president to explain what we are doing in Edo State and to solicit for more federal support for our action.

The governor said his administration had a plan in place to rehabilitate and reintegrate returnee illegal migrants.

He said already the state government had commenced monthly payment of stipend for the past three months to the last batch of the returnees from Libya.

Obaseki revealed that the first set of the returnees that were brought back by International Organization for Migration (IOM) had benefitted from similar stipend.

On the Benin-Auchi federal road, the governor said he received a pledge of support from the federal government.

“We did not spend a lot of money but fortunately the federal government has responded to the issue of the Benin-Auchi federal road.

“As I speak, the Minister of Works is now there inspecting the progress of that work, for those who have travelled on that road recently will see that the federal government has done something quite remarkable on that road,” he said.