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The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, on Tuesday, kicked the Edo South Senatorial District campaign.
The campaign rally, held at the Ekhwuan Campus of the University of Benin, attracted leaders of the party from the 77 wards that make up the Edo South Senatorial District.
Okpebholo unveiled a five-point manifesto, which he listed as security, infrastructural development, education, agriculture and water provision.
At the rally, the rank of the APC swelled as the daughter of the Esama of Benin and former member of the House of Representatives, Omosede Igbinedion, along with her supporters joined the APC.
Her defection followed the earlier resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party and she was accompanied by two of her brothers, Mike and Fred.
Speaking at the rally, a former governorship candidate of the party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said it was the end of the PDP in the state, while a former member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, who recently returned to the APC, Charles Idahosa, urged the people of Edo Central to organise a debate for Okpebholo and his PDP counterpart, Asue Ighodalo, to speak to their people in their homeland.
Idahosa apologised to the people for leading Obaseki from the APC to the PDP.
“I was the face of Obaseki to the PDP, it was a mistake. We did it for him and we are going to remove it from him. When we took him to the PDP, he won, but now we have left him and he will lose,” he said.
While receiving Igbinedion, the acting State Chairman of the APC, Jarrett Tenebe, said, “The train to Osadebey Avenue is taking off and it will stop in Edo Central, Edo North and come back to Edo South, so the people should enter the train now before it gets to Osadebey Avenue.”
Igbinedion said she left the PDP because the APC supported her vision for the Ovia people.
She said, “There is an Esan agenda and I also have the Ovia agenda. The APC has fulfilled the Ovia agenda because we have never produced a deputy governor and the APC has picked our own, Dennis Idahosa, as the party’s deputy governorship candidate.”
A former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, described Igbinedion as an asset to the APC and urged the people to vote out PDP and its candidate, who he accused of presenting fake credentials.
He said, “They claim to be technocrats and in this era of seeking knowledge, they destroyed a library and replaced it with Shoprite. I can assure you that our candidate will turn it back into a digital library.
“They destroyed a hospital and are now building a museum to re-loot returned artefacts which belonged to the palace.
“Our candidate will partner with the palace to build the Benin Royal Museum for the kingdom. He will rebuild the Benin Water Storm project and de-silt the city to check flooding.”
The Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, called on the people not to be scared of the PDP and its candidate while urging the people to join him to defeat the ruling party in the state.
The deputy governorship candidate of the APC, Idahosa, said the contest was between the youth and old men.
The leader of the APC in Edo South, Pius Odubu, in his remarks, said the best time to save the state was now.
