Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole spoke on behalf of the APC Governors Forum yesterday, at the flag-off of the campaign of the candidate of the party in the governorship election in the state, saying the peoples power is behind Buhari.
“We know that corruption will fight back and it is fighting back. And that is why we went for a tested army general to lead the corruption fight. They will fight back but they will be crushed. We reaffirm our confidence in the President, we don’t want any impeachment, we stand for democracy. The coup was resisted in Turkey, that is how Nigerians will resist any attempt to impeach the President”,
He said. “The anti-corruption war must go on, Nigeria’s economy will be repositioned and the people will be witnesses to prosperity. Peace is already returning to the North East. It will return to the Niger Delta and Nigeria will be prosperous again”.
Meanwhile, over two thousand members of the PDP in Edo, led by a veteran politician and one of the founding fathers of the PDP in the state, Chief Samson Esemuede, defected to the APC at the occasion, declaring their support for the candidate of the APC, Obaseki. National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who handed over, to Obaseki and his running mate, Philip Shuaibu, the APC flags, described Obaseki as a hardworking and focused young man “ who will make us proud after Oshiomhole”.
The Director General of the Obaseki Campaign Organization, Osarodion Ogie, in his speech, said Obaseki is “a good product for Edo people and that is why Edo people are behind him”. The flag-off ceremony was colourful as the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, venue of the event, was filled to capacity while about 12 governors of the APC were led by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha. Prior to the event, the APC governors had held a meeting where they urged Nigerians to continue to support Buhari just as they expressed optimism that the current hardship being witnessed by Nigerians would soon be a thing of the past. Okorocha, who read a communique to journalists issued after the meeting, also said the Forum had resolved to “solidly back Obaseki because Edo is APC and we must retain it for our party ”.
Oshiomhole, who addressed the crowd at the campaign flag-off, vowed to ensure that Obaseki emerges the next governor of Edo. He said: “The President is doing a fine job and, for the first time, we are seeing a President calling on senior military officers to account, calling on governors to account. Now we are hearing people talking about impeachment. Just a few hours ago, we heard about the coup in Turkey. Nigerian people unconditionally have resolved to support President Buhari”. Oshiomhole recalled his achievements in the past seven and a half years and challenged the candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming Edo election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to walk the streets of Benin with his former boss, Lucky Igbinedion, and see “how many stones they will collect”.
He said the PDP underdeveloped Edo for ten years and therefore deserves no sympathy from the people. The governor used the opportunity to react to the allegation by the PDP that he denied it the use of the stadium during the flag off of its governorship campaign, explaining: “I don’t want to be joined in their illegality since a Federal High Court had earlier declared that Modu Sheriff was the authentic Chairman of the PDP. And Ize- Iyamu and his fathers belong to the Makarfi-led faction. So, based on that, I decided to obey the court order ”.
He urged the EFCC to prosecute Ize-Iyamu over the N700million campaign fund he allegedly received on behalf of Edo PDP. On his part, Obaseki promised to create 200,000 jobs in Edo in his first four years through agriculture and entrepreneurship while attracting investors to the state. “In the face of the new economic challenge we face, we need leadership with fresh and original ideas to take on these new challenges, so that we can build on and deepen the successes of the current administration”, the APC candidate said.
“There is only one course of action – we must be courageous and determined. We must build on and ex- tend the successes of the current administration to achieve the aspirations of Edo people. I stand before you today on the giant shoulders of the success of the Comrade Governor.
“Over the last seven and a half years, we have transformed Edo and achieved what was said to be impossible. However, the Edo project is work in progress and we are at the most delicate part of this journey.
“We cannot afford any reversals or slowdown in the pace of the achievements we have made to date. There is a lot more that still has to be done- we still have to construct thousands of kilometers of roads into rural communities and farms; scores of schools still need to be renovated; we need to further strengthen our service delivery to our people by training and equipping our civil service;
“We need to address the issue of massive unemployment especially amongst our youths by providing sustainable jobs; we need to give our people more and better access to health- care if fact there is still so much more to be done.
“It will be a huge risk for all of us if we revert political power to those who lack deep understanding of how to link the achievements of the last 7 years with the current situation in Nigeria. What Edo State needs today is someone who has the capacity to raise and access the investments required to build on the past in order to realize the vision.
“What Edo needs today is a leader who in addition to political sagacity, has the managerial and intellectual experience to manage the State of Affairs in the difficult and precarious situation we find ourselves”. I wish you well, Crown Prince tells Obaseki Meanwhile, the Crown Prince of Benin Kingdom, Eheneden Erediauwa, yesterday, expressed the wish that Obaseki will be the next governor of Edo. During a visit of APC governors to the Crown Prince in Benin-City, the Edaiken said it is not good to be in the opposition.
Erediauwa, who praised Oshiomhole, said, “On be- half of the chiefs, the royal family and the Benin Kingdom, I want to specially welcome here the gubernatorial aspirant and his running mate, the one I call my son. He is always so shy. I don’t know how he is able to play politics. I want to welcome all of you for coming here today. I am very delighted and honoured to see the chieftains of the APC, and we are sure that the state is moving on strong with the APC. I have always said one thing, and I have repeated it that in Benin, the monarch is not partisan. However, it is not always too easy to be in the opposition with the party at the centre in Abuja.”
He continued, “So, when Adams Oshiomhole, the Comrade Governor, took the reins of office here, and it was APC, the PDP was in charge in Abuja; we were all wondering: how is he going to do it? How is he going to get the attention of the Federal Government? How is he going to pool all the resources that he needs to work in the state? As you all know, he worked miracles. He did a lot of things which many people thought could not be done. He worked al- most along the same line the Governor of Lagos State at the time, Fashola. So, they were virtually like two brothers working together in the face of the opposition. “So, we can only pray that may the God and our ancestors protect the gubernatorial candidates, give them the wisdom to put food on the table of the masses because, for us, our first concern are the people and, of course, he will be a great respecter, like our Comrade Governor. He should do better than him, to be a great respecter of the traditional institution.”
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