… ”he is not his own man,” source at the meeting says
By Oshioke Audu
What the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has been hiding from the people for some time now has been exposed in far away Maryland, US, where the Edo diaspora community, has now expressed “reservation” about the quality, competencies and capacity of the candidacy of Senator Monday Okpebholo, of the APC for the September 21 governorship election in the state.
Okpebholo, who had an interactive session with a handful of members of Edo Diaspora community was said to have displayed palpable lack of self confidence as well as general lack of knowledge, capacity and competence needed to govern the state.
A source who was present at the meeting described Okpebholo’s outing as “very poor and unconvincing and he generally lacks everything needed to be the governor of our state. He doesn’t come across as his own man. Others were in charge. He was just there, maybe as an observer or to just show his face. Let’s just say as a figure head. That isn’t good at all. We didn’t go to that meeting to listen to those hired speakers. We wanted to hear from him but he failed to impress,” the source stated.
The source fumed about what happened and called it “outsourcing his primary and lead roles to others whom they described as the chairman of the party and another they described as the Leader of the party. Are these the guys that are going to run the government for him? He must be joking. He should be the one in charge and not those guys. They will most likely hijack his government and powers and he would then be their puppet. We don’t think that is the kind of person we want. He is not his own man,” the source fumed severally.
While Senator Okpebholo struggled to assert himself during the event, Pastor Ize Iyamu and the APC state chairman, Jarret Tenebe, reportedly stole the show as they took charge of proceedings, relegating him to the background.
A picture of the event seen online had Pastor Osagie and Jarret conspicuously at the centre while the candidate was pushed to the side of the photo.
The angry source even went to the extent of suggesting that “the man they called Leader was almost acting as the real candidate. That’s an offense of impersonation here in the United States. They are lucky nobody took much interest in who was what. Of the 18 or 20 people in attendance, I don’t think half of us were impressed. It will be difficult for the people to recommend this man for them at home to be voted for as the next Governor of our state.
Beyond Okpebholo’s poor performance, reports by his media aide, who identified himself as Henry J, and claimed to be at the event has been the source of anger and outrage from people back home.
Henry J, in a report of the event he titled: “A night to remember: Senator Okpebholo’s visit to Maryland strengthens Tues with Edo State Diaspora” presented his report in a communique style.
He asserted that, “With a warm smile, he began to share his vision for Edo State, outlining strategies to address pressing issues such as:
1. Insecurity: Senator Okpebholo emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to tackling insecurity, involving community engagement, intelligence gathering, and effective policing.
2. Oba Palace drama with Obaseki: He called for unity and reconciliation, urging all parties to put the interest of Edo State above personal differences.”
The report which is trending on the net has caused no little stir as concerned Edos took umbrage at the temerity of Okpebholo to advise the Oba to “put the interest of Edo State above personal differences.”
Reactions have since Friday afternoon been trailing what many residents in Benin City described as both “foolish, disrespectful and unsolicited advice by Okpebholo to the Oba”.
Henry J named some of those who attended the meeting as Chief David Adolo, the Master of Ceremonies, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Emperor Jarrett Tenebe, Dr. Legend Asuelime, Mr. Osazee Imasogie, Mr. AbdulRahman Abubakar, and Hon. EJ Agbonayinma, as well as others.
He concluded by announcing that, “Henry J, a renowned journalist, was live in Maryland to cover the event, providing a firsthand account of the evening’s proceedings.”
Realizing the anger and outrage that have been trailing the unsolicited advice by Okpebholo, his media team quickly swung into action doing damage control and presenting a false report by John Mayaki titled “It is a sacrilege to drag the Oba in a market square – Okpebholo. The report has, however, been roundly condemned as an afterthought by people of the state.
So bad the palace so held in high esteem by the Edo people