As part of new initiatives to increase the state’s digital space and lessen rural-urban migration, the Edo State Government has finalized plans with its partners to install fiber optic lines to all 18 of the local government areas in the state.
Crusoe Osagie, Special Advisor to the Governor on Media Projects, revealed this over the weekend to reporters in Benin City, stating that Edo will be the first state in the nation to accomplish the goal as a result of the development.
He claims, “The Edo State Government has completed plans with its partners to install fiber optic connections throughout all of the state’s local government councils by September, making history as the first state to accomplish the remarkable accomplishment.
Using technology, the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki has worked for the past six years to implement reforms and projects that will guarantee the state has the proper physical and digital infrastructure to support sustainable growth and development. This new arrangement will support the government’s efforts to increase the potential for commerce among all Edo local councils and to expand its digital space, which will improve people’s quality of life and lessen the effects of rural-urban drift.
“We are making sure that all of our communities have consistent access to energy and that urban development initiatives are extended to rural areas.
“We are working with the local governments to extend the fiber network to all Edo communities because we are confident that with electricity and fiber connectivity people will not have to leave their villages to the urban centers for their businesses.”
“The majority of the LGAs in metropolitan Benin are already connected to fiber, in order to guarantee that every Edo resident, including those who live in rural areas, conducts e-commerce as successfully as it occurs in any urban center in the state and contributes their fair share to the development of the state, regardless of where they are, a new arrangement is intended to extend the cable to all other LGAs in the state.” Osagie added.
