Chieftains of All Progressives Congress (APC), from the 18 Local Government Areas of Edo State, have unanimously adopted Governor Godwin Obaseki, as the party’s standard bearer for the 2020 gubernatorial election in the State.
The leaders adopted the governor during an enlarged meeting with the governor at Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
Stating that the governor has transformed all sectors of the state within a short time, he said, “We are solidly behind the governor and his deputy, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu for a second term. This is the first time somebody is speaking to our hearts and it is evident in the physical structures he is building across the state.”
Also speaking, former Chief Whip in the Edo State House of Assembly and a leader of the APC in Edo North, Shaibu Abdullahi, seconded the motion for the adoption of Governor Obaseki as the APC flagbearer in the 2020 governorship election.
“When a woman carries you on her back, you are protected. We are happy for all the governor is doing. We are carrying him on our back as a sign of our support for his administration,”Okoro said.
Earlier, Edo State Chairman of the APC, Barr Anselm Ojezua, echoed the party leaders’ support for Governor Obaseki’s second term bid.
He explained that once the party sanitised its system, it will be better and stronger, adding that APC prohibits the formation of parallel movements within the party structure.
Ojezua explained that the Edo Peoples Movement (EPM) cannot be an organ of the party.
Speaking, APC Chieftain, Charles Idahosa, urged the party leaders to intensify work at the ward level to defeat the common enemy against the Governor Obaseki-led government.
“We have a problem and we need to go back to our respective wards to put things in order. There is a big fight, and it is a win for us. We know our enemy and we must defeat him,”Idahosa said.
The governor presented the scorecard of his administration in the past three years to the party chieftains, praising them for their sacrifice and faith in his administration, with a promise to do more in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
Obaseki said his administration has engendered good governance through policies and programmes targeted at eradicating poverty and creating jobs in the last three years, assuring to consolidate on his achievements in the next one year.
“When we came onboard three years ago, 15 out of 18 LGAs were not able to pay salaries and we met huge pension arrears burden, but with your support, we have made a lot of progress.
“For revenue generation, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in Oredo LGA rose from N1.5 million monthly in December 2016 to N62 million in October, 2019. We are emphasising people-oriented projects because the APC’s principle is focused on people’s development,” the governor said.
Obaseki, who said his administration has created about 107,000 direct and indirect jobs in the last three years, urged citizens to expect more developments in the next year especially in the area of agriculture, infrastructure, job creation and social welfare.
He vowed that members of the APC working against the interest of the party would be shown the exit door, adding, saying that nobody should see himself or herself bigger than the party.
