…. As APC’s Okpebholo conspicuously absent
By Kingsley Ohens
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Dr Asue Ighodalo, shone brilliantly as he exhibited class and preparedness for the top job in the first major debate ahead of the election on Friday.
The debate organized by the Unuedo Renaissance saw Ighodalo squaring up against the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata. The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Monday Okpebholo, was nowhere to be found.
Ighodalo drew applause as he clearly articulated and espoused his plans for the state drawing richly from his manifesto titled ‘The Pathway to Prosperity for All’ while Olumide, who didn’t present one to the gathered audience spent almost 50 percent of his time agreeing with Ighodalo on important issues.
Both candidates that were present received commendations from the organizers for honouring the invitation; while Okpebholo took flak for his continued hide and seek game with the people of the state.
From all indications, it was clear that Ighodalo is miles ahead of the others in terms of preparation for governance and the task of building Edo State.
Ighodalo spoke coherently to issues, showing his good grasp of the situations in the state and giving a hint of how to solve all identified problems.
“The state government has done well in terms of education and growing our economy; but there is still a lot more that I believe can be done,” he said during the debate session.
Ighodalo emphasised the need for security as a foundational prerequisite for his economic revival plans; and drew out his plans for vocational education and a review of the curriculum to focus on STEM subject to make every child well equipped with the skills needed to thrive in the modern world.
The absence of Okpebholo was described by an attendee as political hara-kiri. “Unuedo is arguably one of the most important social-cultural Edo diaspora groups; that Monday would choose to boycott this event speaks volumes.”
At the end of the debate, the general consensus in the room was that Asue Ighodalo was best suited to lead Edo State. A widely expressed opinion was that Monday Okpebholo and his APC are taking the people of Edo State for granted.
