At last the much awaited Edo State Governorship election has come and gone. The contest was fierce, and the winner emerged. I am happy at the magnanimity of the Governor-elect, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for extending the olive branch to his co-contestants reminding them that it is all about Edo State. That is a good beginning.
The struggle for power at any level should be about the people. It is about service to humanity. As we savour the victory; the sweet, sweet victory, what should be uppermost in the minds of all political leaders of the All Progressive Congress is service to our people. To whom much is given, much is usually expected and we must continue to build on where Comrade Adams Oshiomhole would let off on the 12th of November.
It is an undisputable fact that Edo State is full circle, All Progressive Congress (APC) state. During the 2012 Governorship election in the state conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, under the leadership of Professor Atahiru Jega, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of the APC won overwhelmingly in all the eighteen Local Government Areas of the State. During the Local Government Election, the APC made a repeat performance by wining all the Chairmanship seats in the state, given its track record of excellent performance and widespread acceptability across the length and breadth of the state. But the PDP have been making all sorts of noise in some parts of the state since the declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki as the Governor-elect of the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
As it is customary of some PDP bad losers, who would hardly accept defeat in good fate, even in the face of overwhelming defeat they always resort to crying foul and the next would be to rush to the election petition tribunal. There were a few PDP followers who went out to protest the outcome of the election. Many Edo people are still wondering why in the widest imagination of the PDP they would expect to win a gubernatorial election in Edo State.
Wonders they say shall never end. Why should PDP expect to win an election in a state where they have very bad record of governance? The PDP even put up a good showing this time around. May be because of the person of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, that they managed to win in five out of the 18 Local Governments Areas of Edo State. We also saw that the PDP during the electioneering were attempting to hoodwink Edo people to believe that the economic downturn being experienced by all oil-dependent nations such as Nigeria was a problem of the All Progressives Congress.
Attempt was made to dissuade Edo voters not to vote for Godwin Obaseki on account of the current economic recession in the country which was not caused by Oshiomhole or the APC, but by the past PDP federal governments which held sway for 16 solid years when crude oil was selling for over $120 dollar per barrel. This boom in price of oil led the PDP government under former President Olusegun Obasanjo to open the excess crude account for savings.
Instead of saving the oil windfall that accrued for a long time in anticipation of a possible downturn in the future, the PDP squandered the nation’s wealth. They ought to have either saved the excess revenue or used the excess funds to develop critical infrastructure such as electricity, railway, urban water and even diversify the economy into ICT driven economy, agriculture and solid minerals. They did none of these.
If that had happened, perhaps, it would have been impossible to change the PDP- led federal government at the last general election. Instead, they looted the money, shared it among themselves and their cronies and allowed critical infrastructure to rot and decay.
This was the parlous state of affairs the APC inherited when President Muhammadu Buhari took over from them last year. Since then, the price of crude oil has continued to nose- dive and many oil-dependent nations such as Omar, Qatar, Aziberjian, Angola, Kuwait, Saudi-Arabia are all experiencing recession. Things are no longer the way they use to be.
But Nigeria is a blessed nation with abundant natural resources. That is why the APC federal government is picking the bits and pieces of what transpired to fix the nation’s ailing economy. It is, therefore vexatious for a PDP that ruined the nation these past years to be talking of “changing the change” in Edo state on the account of their ruination. Edo people have not forgotten how they destroyed the state for ten years and the electorate last week refused to be fooled by their antics.
It is therefore important for us to express our deep gratitude to all Edo people for the massive support for our party which led to the landslide victory of our Governorship candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki on Wednesday, September 28, 2016.
Their massive support has not only led to the total victory of APC across the three Senatorial districts of Edo State but has further challenged us to give our all in our service to the state. It is gratifying that the Governor-elect is re-echoing the assurances of the APC to the good people of Edo State, both at home and in Diaspora that our hands are already on the plough for the massive development of the state and the APC will continue the massive development currently going on in the state.
It is also important to thank our creator, God almighty, who helped us to have successful election and for the clement weather on election day. We thank him for his faithfulness upon Edo people whom he has chosen never to return to Egypt.
It is equally important to appreciate the Benin Traditional Council and our respected traditional rulers across the state for refusing to be dragged into politics of hate. It is equally important to appreciate the Christian and Muslim Communities in the state for their prayers, and actual participation in the entire electoral process. Now that the battle is over, all Edo people should be forward looking and should not allow themselves to be distracted by enemies of the state.
• Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
