The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that the upcoming September 21 governorship election in Edo State will be determined by the people, not by distant analysts.
In a statement issued in Benin, Orobosa Omo-Ojo, Director of Publicity for the APC Edo Governorship Campaign Organization, emphasized that the decision rests with the citizens of Edo who are eager to reclaim the state from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which he accused of mismanaging the state’s resources.
Omo-Ojo was responding to comments made by Chris Nehikhare, Edo State’s Commissioner of Communication and Orientation, who criticized the APC state chairman’s remarks on Arise Television regarding the inability of many Edo residents to afford pay television.
“Edo people have shown a clear determination to take back their state from the PDP, which has squandered the commonwealth of the people,” Omo-Ojo stated. He argued that the deteriorating infrastructure across the state has only deepened the socio-economic crises, particularly in neglected rural areas.
He added, “Edo citizens will judge Governor Godwin Obaseki and his PDP by their tangible achievements—or lack thereof—in critical areas such as roads, schools, hospitals, agriculture, land administration, culture, and their relationship with our traditional institutions when they cast their votes for freedom on September 21.”
Omo-Ojo dismissed external analyses as irrelevant, stating, “No analysis of junk data from onlookers in Lagos, Abuja, or anywhere outside Edo State will derail the determination of stakeholders to control their own destiny.”
Defending APC State Chairman Jarret Tenebe’s comments, Omo-Ojo said it accurately reflects the severe hardship caused by the PDP’s administration in Edo. He criticized “pseudo-commentators” for making uninformed judgments about the state’s affairs, suggesting that only those who have visited all 18 local government areas can truly understand the situation.
He concluded by noting that while PDP leaders and Governor Obaseki may dispute Tenebe’s assertion that many rural Edo residents cannot afford pay-per-view television, it is ultimately the struggling citizens, whose basic needs have been neglected, who will decide their future on election day.
