Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press.

Being text of speech at the press conference held in Benin NUJ Centre, today Sunday June 23rd.

I thank you for this Assembly put together, and done so richly at very short notice. The reason for this conference is to formally notify you all that we have taken off our campaigns across the state; the APC campaigns have now taken off!!!! We will cover 18 Local Governments and 192 Wards, and our message is simple. It is a message of hope because, A NEW EDO IS RISING: Edo is rising from the ashes of the present dismal performance of the PDP in the state. As a government and party, God willing, we are going to immediately overhaul five critical areas of our socioeconomic stance which we see, need urgent attention. These areas are;
Agriculture.
The health sector
Education and human capital development
Environmental protection and safety
Security architecture will be overhauled to mitigate the present insecurity situation in the state.

Edo state has been badly run in the last eight years; this does not need to be over-emphasised. The ruins and their relics are ubiquitous. To say the least, it is most disheartening; but we thank God. Our people say who never marry bad wife no go know when e get better wife. What you see now will form the basis for your comparison and commendation of our in coming governor, Senator Monday Okpebhole when he assumes office, God willing. As the people of the heartbeat of the nation, we know that Edo people are very peaceful and resilient; they have built and shown character over the last few years. Edo people have tolerated more that enough. The homogeneous ancestry that we have is part of the reasons why we see ourselves as one; edo, okpa ma-khin. But the last eight years have become very troubling years in the annals of our history. We thank God that it is coming to an end.

We know that our people are desirous of new lease of life for our dear state, and we feel happy that the time has now come; we are now on the cursp of happiness and progress again in this state. We the members of the APC, are harbingers of good tidings; our candidate’s success in this race will never bear regret from anyone, covertly or overtly. The APC in Edo State is a party with professionals of repute, who have in private lives and in public offices made record successes. Senator Monday Okpebholo will right all the wrongs that have bedeviled Edo State: political prebendalism, threats, intimidation and coercion and intolerance, which currently reign supreme. These were the bane of the failure of the state. They will be corrected. I assure you all that after critical examinations, we have concluded that Edo State has not hit an impasse; the condition at the moment is just an imbroglio; Senator Okpebholo is equal to the task! The September 21st election presents a golden opportunity for every Bona Fide voter of this state to join hands to reinvent the wheel, and set Edo state, once again, on the path of unity and harmony. Senator Monday Okpebholo is the man to vote for. On that day, all bona fide voters as a matter of responsibility must come out to vote and you will be best served by voting Senator Monday Okpebholo.
Senator Okpebholo is a man who possesses subliminal humility to engage with all Edo people of all stations of life. He has a deep knowledge of the state in terms of geography and peculiar challenges and predicaments and also possesses quality general knowledge and broad contacts to attract fitting solutions to the problems across the state. Senator Okpebholo is a man with emotional intelligence to which has enriched him with meek patience in dealing with fellow humans; from a humble beginning, he struggled to break the glass ceiling to make the success which he is today in life. He knows the colour of poverty, he understands the struggles and sufferings of our people, he shares in their aspirations and yearnings, and he’s ready to confront the vile architecture of those who don’t mean well for the state, to make a better home for our people. From Akuku to Ologbo, Okpekpe to Okada, we will carry everybody along to build a new Edo where love and affection, peace and stability will co-exist to deepen the conversation of governance. Senator Okpebholo is a simple man by nature, he is a man with grit and vision. He is approachable and is a community builder, who has invested in the development of his people.

While others promote their candidate as THE MAN WEY SABI, we proudly present Senator Okpebholo as THE MAN WEY WE SABI. We know him as a Senator representing the good people of Edo Central Senatorial District, an illustrious son of the soil, who is ever ready to shoulder the responsibilities of his people. We have come to the point in Edo state’s electoral trajectory where we must resist any attempt of anyone to use the state as a buffer for failed business enterprises, like Governor Obaseki, such people will only use the state to recoup their losses and rejuvenate their failed private businesses. We cannot afford to hand our wheel of leadership to failed business men, who will take over the reins of power in our state for their private gains. Lagos no be Lagos, but they’ve gone to Lagos to bring “Lagos Boy”. If we make the same mistake again, when they are done pillaging our resources, they will quietly exit to their familiar terrain. We need a man like Senator Okpebholo, who lives among us, shares in our troubles, share in our aspirations and is ready to take the lead in search of ways to raise Edo State in ranking among the best places to live in, work, and play in the world. He is a talk and do man, who talks less, and does more; he is not one of those who will sweet-talk us into phantasmagoria in their desperate scour for our votes. As a private individual, Senator Okpebholo is a philanthropist of note, a community builder, a cosmopolitan Edolite, a consummate business man, and employer of labour, whose intervention in the critical sectors of the Edo economy has been unequivocally acknowledged especially by his constituents in Edo Central Senatorial District.

Education in Edo State is in desperate need of qualitative intervention. Their EdoBest is actually EdoWorst. No new teachers are available to be recruited in such an atmosphere of depleting workforce as we have in Edo State. The civil service has also been deserted by Edo citizens. The state is now run on casual and contract staff, and prefer to engage only strangers meaningfully, ostensibly for preservation and concealment of their shenanigans, while the citizens wallow in abject poverty and suffering. For optics, Governor Obaseki has raised the civil servants minimum wage; it remains to be seen how many civil servants there are in the state. Rather than encourage our businesses, he unalives them by promoting outsiders over and above our own citizens; e.g The Benin Museum is being built by outsiders using Edo state funds. The Ultra-modern hospital built by the Oshiomhole administration is being run by outsiders. The Stella Obasanjo Hospital being renovated is in the hands of outsiders, and so many others. Do you blame them? That is their catchment area, because they were never part of the Edo political environment. This is why Edo people must reject importees like Asue Ighodalo and embrace the MAN WEY WE SABI, he is Senator Okpebholo of the APC. Edo state must rise again, and free itself from the snares of under-development, and in freedom, work with a man who will promote collective enterprise for the overall good of our people.

Don’t ever forget or be made to forget that Governor Obaseki is quarrelsome and combative. He quarrels with almost everybody; he quarreled with our Monarch, the Great Oba of Benin, and is working tirelessly to undermine the Benin Palace. he quarreled with his former Deputy Governor, Phillip Shuaibu, he quarreled with Chief Dan Orbih, the South-South vice chairman of the PDP, the man that received Governor Obaseki into the PDP in 2020, he quarrelled with numerous political opponents, and also with-held the statutory allocations to traditional rulers including that of.the Oba of Benin. If you people allow him supplant his godson, he will impose his style on Asue Ighodalo; which is how come we have become so miserable in the state. You all must decline and distance yourselves from anybody and anything that has anything to do with Governor Obaseki. The only dividends of his government are: flooding, environmental degradation and pollution, and craftiness; with Obaseki, lies can build a duplex. Those are the things he will teach his godson to do. Be wary of them and save our state. All the failed promises stare us in the face. Sobe Farms failed. 18 stadia promised in 18 local govts failed. Gelegele Port failed. Auchi Airport, failed. 200,000 Edo jobs failed. We can go on and on. The litany of failed promises and projects is the reason the governor is now called GOVERNOR MoU. While Edo is getting poorer by the day, with a new debt profile of N539B, Governor Obaseki is getting richer by the hour. We must resist the temptation of bringing a successor that will cover his tracks and perpetuate his style. Edo’s stolen money must be recovered to the last kobo.

We can go on and on, as it bears repeating to say that Edo state urgently needs a new thinking, and a new lease of life. With Senator Okpebholo and Honourable Dennis Idahosa, a new Edo is Rising. We shall break away from the snares of failure, into a state where peace, prosperity, unity, and stability will flourish; to grow our economy and improve our relationships as a homogeneous people. Thank you for listening.

Prince Kassim Afegbua.
Media Consultant.
APC GOVERNORSHIP CAMPAIGN COUNCIL.