Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has disclosed that his entry into the 2023 senatorial race was not self-motivated, but rather a response to persistent appeals from the All Progressives Congress (APC), despite his initial lack of interest in politics.
Speaking during an event on Sunday, Governor Okpebholo reflected on how the APC leadership encouraged him to contest for the Edo Central Senatorial seat, citing a lack of willing contenders within the party.
“If you look at me very well, I am not the talking type. I have never been interested in politics,” he said. “But I want to see that where I come from is developed. That was the drive, and that was the spirit. Nobody wanted to contest for Senate under APC, but they were fighting and killing themselves to get House of Assembly tickets in the PDP.”
According to the governor, his eventual candidacy was the result of a concerted push by party stakeholders who saw him as a unifying figure.
“Three people came into my house and said, ‘We have come to tell you to contest for Senate.’ That rejected stone—today, everybody is turning to APC,” he recounted.
Governor Okpebholo also projected major political realignments in the South-South region, suggesting increased alignment with the federal government’s development priorities.
“Very soon, there will be wings flying left and right. People will be moving, cross-carpeting. That is the beginning of the South-South coming together under the common transformation agenda of Mr. President, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he stated.
