Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Sunday, decried the level of underdevelopment in the South-South region, in spite of its being the most funded in the country.

Obaseki expressed his disappointment when the Executive of the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) presented him an award at the Government House, Benin.

The award was for his emerging winner of the 7th Niger Delta Development Forum (NDDF) competition.

The governor advocated the judicious use of resources in the region to drive socio-economic development.

He said Edo was on a mission to changing the current situation in the region with an articulate long-term development framework that provided a sustainable pathway to economic progress.

Obaseki said part of the challenges faced by the South-South was defining well-articulated and implementable development agenda.

He noted, “a lot has been done in the region over the years but they have not translated to meaningful development to benefit our people. The region remains one of the least developed in the country when you review what we earn.”

The governor attributed the failure of development in the region to lack of planning and said that the right thing should be done.

He noted that without a well-thought out physical, economic and social development master plans that were implementable, it would be difficult for the state to get out of its developmental problems.

“I want to assure you that Edo is investing a lot in planning to change the narrative of the state,” he said.

According to him, the challenge various governments have today is the inability to get things done.

“As a government, we are going to put in place systems, processes and procedures. This is to ensure that public officers, members of the public and Civil Society Organisations will understand what to do, how to do it and when to do it. This will enable us get to our destination,” he added.

Obaseki explained that his administration’s development blueprint was built on six key pillars: reforms of government institutions, education, economic revolution, environmental sustainability and tourism.

The Partnership and Engagement Manager for PIND, Chime Asonye, said they were at the Edo Government House to present the state with an award won at the 7th NDDF.

Asonye said Edo was the state with the best governance framework on long term planning in the Niger Delta region. (NAN)