Edo Gov Poll: Candidates Intensify Campaign

By Jamiu Yisa

As the July 14 governorship election in Edo State draws near, all political parties and their candidates taking part in the election have taken their campaigns to a feverish level.

In the run up to the election, candidates have intensified their campaigns as they go round the 18 local government areas trying to convince the electorate to vote for them.

The election, Political Platform reliably gathered, is mainly between the incumbent, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Major-General Charles Airhiavbere(retd).

Other contestants are Solomon Edebiri of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP,  Frank Ukonga of the Social Democratic Mega Party, SDMP, Roland Izevbuwa of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Andrew Igwemoh of the Labour Party, LP, and Paul Orumwense of the National Conscience Party, NCP.

For Oshiomhole, the message has been  “Let the progress continue” and “One good tenure deserves another”. On his part, Airhiavbere has continued to harp on “the man you can trust.”

The former labour leader started his campaigns in phases from senatorial to local government and ward levels and on to the streets. In every local government, he told the electorate to choose between his achievements and the legacies of the PDP.

Oshiomhole described the PDP as a political party without a history of performance, urging the electorate to reject the PDP at the polls, using their most effective weapon—the voter’s card.

According to him, “if they tell you what they will do in the future, they must tell you what they did in the past. What we have to live for is to ensure that Nigeria must make progress and any invasion from Abuja to rig the election in Edo State must be resisted. As future leaders, you have a duty to refuse to be intimidated.”

“We must keep them out with the power of the truth. Look at the schools built by us and look at the PDP legacies. On election day, the choice is yours whether to vote for the past pig houses called schools left by the PDP or our new revolution in education.

“I urge you to stand by us. Give us your votes and we will shock you with more programmes and development. As the Adolor of Esanland, I am bound to bring development to Esanland. We have been delivering on roads, schools and electricity. We are redefining politics to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of people.”

“With our bare hands, they couldn’t rig us out in 2007. We will remain focused on  issues of development. You must wait till the results are announced and let us see how they change the results. For us to ask for a new mandate to continue, we must justify what we have done in our first time.

“Our work speaks louder than our voice. You have your choice to vote between evil and what is good. We will do our best for these communities. Our second term is the chance to carry on with the second phase of lifting the state,” he said.

Airhiavbere, in his campaigns in Edo North, said his administration would initiate new projects and complete ongoing ones in the localities as well as conduct local government election few months after being elected into office.

He said the failure of the incumbent governor to conduct local government election in the state contributed immensely to poverty in Edo State and which in turn has resulted in very slow pace of development in our rural areas.

The PDP candidate told his supporters that Edo State was 7th among states with the highest federal allocation as an oil-producing state but was now ranked 9th in the list of poorest states due to fund mismanagement.

He promised to reduce fees payable at all state-owned tertiary institutions as well as upgrade infrastructure at the institutions.

SDMP candidate, Frank Ukonga, promised to bring a 12-point agenda when elected as governor which he said includes free education at all levels, free lunch, agricultural revolution and creation of two million jobs.

Ukonga said his administration would partner with the Federal Government to build nuclear power which he explained was cheaper.

The candidate of NCP, Paul Orumwense, said he would provide shelter, electricity, food and things that would make life easy for Edo people. He promised to bring in foreign partners for power generation.

For the CPC candidate, Roland Izevbuwa, eradication of corruption and meeting of peoples need would be his focus and promised to generate power from Oben gas reserve and Gelegele River.

He said large scale farming would be done to engage the youths and that farm implements would be distributed free.

Candidate of the ANPP, Solomon Edebiri said the missing link in the state was human capital development which he promised to provide and to generate power through water and windmill.