By Kingsley Ohens
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 21 governorship election has said that himself and his running mate, Barr Osarodion Ogie Esq, would run a transparent and fully accessible government if voted into power.
Ighodalo made the declaration on Sunday when he held a Town Hall Meeting with indigenes of Edo State who are resident in Lagos.
Speaking to a fully packed hall in Maryland, Ikeja, Ighodalo expressed gratitude to the people for the huge turnout of the state’s indigenes in Lagos who received him with cultural dances in a carnival like manner.
He confessed that of all his Town Hall Meetings both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, none has recorded more attendance than the Sunday Maryland, Ikeja, meeting with over 1000 attendees.
He explained his vision for the state as contained in his “Pathway to Prosperity for All” manifesto.
He emphasised that: “We will run a transparent, open and accessible government. We will be accountable to you. If we want to achieve all that we talked about, then we must be able to create a transparent and open door policy as a way of doing government business.
He assured that under his watch, he would be able to raise the funds needed to run the government in a way that it would be able to embark on provision of infrastructure in the state.
Ighodalo appealed to his listeners to support his quest for governorship. “The future of Edo State is in our hands. It is imperative that we come together to lend our voice and support for this cause,” he stated.
During a question and answer session, he revealed that he would run a 50/50 gender government structure. He also assured that all issues about the Ambrose Alli University AAU would be resolved and the institution would be repositioned to be a leading institution in Nigeria. The same, he stated, would apply to all other institutions owned by the state government. He also promised that whoever would be visiting the state with the aim of investment would be made to see the governor first or the deputy governor as a mark of assurance that the state treats investments related issues with priority.
Speaking earlier, Chief Convener of the Town Hall Meeting, Apostle Jereton Oshodin, said “Ighodalo and Ogie are not just seeking positions of power, but they are offering themselves as servants to the people as partners in progressive and as catalysts for positive change in Edo State.”
Among the top chieftains of PDP who attended the Town Hall Meeting were the Edo State House of Assembly Majority Leaders, Hon. Charity Aiguobarueghian, the Director General of the PDP Campaign Council, Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, wife of the running mate, Mrs Osarodion Ogie, and a host of others.
