The deputy governorship candidates of the five political parties that are part of the political parties cleared for the Edo 2024 governorship election have promised to be disciplined, loyal and be team players in their relationship with their governors if voted into office.
The deputy governorship candidates including those of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Philip Osagie; New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Edith Isopkan; All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Comrade Bello Aneru; Labour Party, LP, Yusuf Hassan Kadiri; and African Alliance Congress AAC, Sir Lord Osas Osunde. They made the declarations Thursday evening at the ITV/Radio organized Debate for Deputy Governorship Candidates in the Edo 2024 governorship election.
The running mates who displayed a seemingly perfect understanding of their roles as deputies said their functions were first at the pleasure of their principal, the governor, who they are elected to assist to succeed in his task of providing good and purposeful governance for the people.
They also individually and collectively asserted that their duties and responsibilities touch on how to assist in ensuring that state resources are efficiently harnessed and managed for the betterment of Edo citizens, including their roles to act as pillars of support to their principal, the governor.
They were unanimous in their submissions on the common cause of the rift between deputy governor and the governor, stating that mutual suspicion and side talks fueled by lack of confidence were at the core of the rancour.
They promised to deploy the potent tool of trust and understanding to engender mutual trust and confidence in their relationship with their bosses to stave off the needless crises. They however identified that studies have shown that quarrels usually result at the twilight of their final tenure when the governor would have started shopping for a trusted successor aside from his ambitious deputy.
The deputies they agreed must learn to be patient with their bosses and show loyalty as much as possible to engender a conducive operational environment that would ensure good governance that will ultimately benefit the people.
They admitted that the governors usually suspect their deputies when they feel they aren’t loyal and knowing they stand to benefit from the woes of their principal, the governor, in the event of impeachment or death.
They however, said that to establish a good working relationship, they must understand the basic work ethics that emphasize teamwork.
On their ideas on how to boost the revenue base of the state and improve on its economy, they all agreed that the prevailing economic situation wasn’t good enough, suggesting rather that efforts should be directed at growing the GDP of the state by putting more people to work through massive infrastructure development investment in agribusiness to create more jobs and increase the tax net.
They equally promised to look into the areas of attracting investors to the state to help boost the state’s economy.
On how to strengthen the security architecture of the state, they promised to set up a formidable and social oriented security outfit that will take care of the security needs of the people especially those in the rural areas.
They however, said such a security outfit should not be politically oriented, adding that if it is political, it would not achieve the desired results.
In their respective messages to the Edo people, they advised the electorate to beware of politicians who have been recycled severally as they no longer have anything tangible to offer to the people.
In his closing remarks, the Managing Director of ITV Television and Radio, Engr. Elvis Obaseki, saluted the courage of the deputy governorship candidates present in offering themselves to serve in that capacity.
He added that ITV/Radio wouldn’t take them for granted as they will always play their role as media organization to give them support.
