Lucky Obukohwo ReportingÂ
The former Commissioner for Information in Edo State, Mr Kassim Afegbua, said zoning arrangement of governorship slot is alien in the history of the state’s politics.
He said this during his courtesy visit on the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, where he declared his intention to contest for the governorship position on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said the political contest has always been thrown open to anybody willing to contest governorship election in the state and wondered why the 2024 election will be different from every other years.
“There have never been zoning of governorship position in Edo state. Anybody who is saying that there is zoning will be missing the point all together.
“In 2007, Adams Oshiomhole contested for the governorship position and he brought his popularity as the National President of the NLC to Edo State. He took AC that later became ACN and later APC and won against the PDP.
“Then, we had four ministers from Edo Central and also Prof Osunbor, who was governor then and nobody zoned anything to anybody. From then to now, every primary conducted by PDP or APC has been contested by candidates from other zones.
Continuing he said: “We cannot afford to be in opposition, when we have a Federal Government that is poised to renew our hope and take us to a place of prosperity, economic strength, stability, and pride. I am determined to make a big difference with positive impacts.
“With your support, I will redefine the essence of governance for the benefit of our people. The era of lamentation will be gone when I take the lead. Edo must rise again; she must rise from the ashes of this present mis-governance to a state that will occupy its rightful place in the assembly of states in Nigeria.
“Edo state deserves more than just a passing interest; so, please rally round in solidarity and support me in this great aspiration to govern the state, as it will go a long way to help me vanquish the peculiar currents and bends that such an enviable goal comes with. I feel more ready now that I have brought this to your notice, and I am taking steps to commence the journey. I count on you and your unflinching and unflagging support to make this aspiration come to fruition”, Afegbua said.
While calling on the people of the state to cast their votes for him when the time comes, he said he is going to place more emphases on road infrastructure adding that, absence of that, the state economy will suffer.
“Edo is begging for attention,I can’t withstand the kind of road I saw across Edo State. Mobility is key to every human existence. If your are driving from here to Ekpoma, which should be for one hour and it takes you three hours or more than that.
“Or you are going to Okpella that should take less than two hours and it takes you four hours. You may not even have the strength for the business you are going for or even meet the appointment that is taking you to the place.
“These roads are important because without them, you cannot take harvest to the city,where there is high demand for it. How do we encourage farmers? Road infrastructure will be my number one priority.
“What is the state government doing? It is not enough to say that this road is federal government road. What about the state roads?”