As the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election campaign commence in full swing the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the Edo State Government have thrown jabs at each other over the state of affairs in the acclaimed heartbeat state.
Prince Kassim Afegbua, the Media Consultant to the APC Governorship Campaign Council, while announcing the commencement of the party’s campaign across the 192 wards of the state, had faulted the performance of the PDP led state government saying “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.”
According to Prince Afegbua: “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!”
Going further, he stated: “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.”
On education, the APC submitted, “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.Â
“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.”
On the state’s debt profile, APC asserted: “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.”
Responding through a voice note, Hon. Chris Nehikhare, the State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, said: “I just finished reading the long winding statement of the APC. If it was in Caesarian time they will call it much ado about nothing. The statement lacks depth, lacks understanding and lacks knowledge. It was something hurriedly put together like a project for a first degree student studying English or History.
“It’s all talk, talk and talk. There’s no roadmap. There’s no policy statement. There’s no how they’ll achieve the things they say they want to do. And it is even more baffling when they mentioned education. Education has been the bedrock of this administration. It has received many laurels and many kudos from all the stakeholders all over the world. When you talk about security architecture, we probably have one of the best in the country as our crime rate here probably lower than anywhere else across Nigeria. When you talk of agriculture we are proud of what we have done in agriculture. Very proud of it.
“And when you hear APC rambling and rambling and rambling I had to wait till the end of the statement to understand that it was not even written or spoken to by their candidate but by a proxy. I challenge the candidate to come up and speak to these things because recently I heard that they came up with a slogan ‘we won’t talk, talk won’t work’ I think that’s what they mean or they’re saying ‘lets talk more work’.
“But it’s more appropriate when we talk about ‘we won’t talk, we won’t work.’ APC is now a disgrace, an embarrassment to Edo people. I don’t know how they will come out to be talking about campaigning when they have not addressed the economy. The party has failed woefully at the national and at the state level here they’re waiting desperately to have their hands on our treasury. They’ll fail woefully.
“They should address Edo people. Tell them how they will make life better for them. How they will make the market woman able to afford food for the family. Let them come out and tell us that they will sustain the minimum wage of N70,000 which Edo State Government has introduced. They should come out and tell us how they would improve on what we have done.
“Tell us what you understand by the reforms that we have done. How they think the reforms can help or not help. Not this rhetorics of 1916 politics. Gather some press men together, write an essay in the bedroom and come and deliver it. Edo State is more sophisticated than that. My response to the press statement is that it’s much ado about nothing. Thank you.”
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