…charges security agencies, electoral commission on free, credible guber poll

Chairman of the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tony Aziegbemi, has described Governor Godwin Obaseki as “a noiseless achiever, who works more and talks less,” noting that the governor’s reforms and people-oriented programmes have changed the fortunes of the majority of Edo people and will earn him a second term in office.

Speaking to journalists in Benin City, the state party chairman said the Obaseki-led administration has over 3,000 projects yet to be commissioned, adding that the government has, in the last three years and eight months, focused on strategic infrastructural development and sustainable economic initiatives and programmes.

Aziegbemi said: “The chances of our candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, in the September 19, 2020 Governorship Election, without sounding immodest, is high. His support base hovers between 80 and 85 per cent among the electorate in Edo State. The governor has about 3000 projects that are lined up for commissioning. These projects are not phantom projects. In fact, the projects cut across the entire state.

“Apart from those infrastructural developments, Governor Obaseki’s vision for the state is extraordinary. He is very clear about what he wants to do with Edo people. I have not met a man with so much passion and a very clear-cut vision of what he wants to do for his people and he is not boastful about it.”

“He is a silent achiever and humble leader. He is not boastful or talking about it as if he is boastful. Surprisingly, Edo people see through all that, they know who is genuine and who is fake”, he added.

Alleging plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the forthcoming gubernatorial poll, the party chairman, noted: “I would advise that any person thinking of rigging the September 19, 2020 Governorship election in the state should have a rethink because that will not happen. In fact, it is in their own interest to stop thinking about it because if they do, the consequences will be so devastating, even more than they could imagine.

“It’s clear that Edo electorate are prepared to vote; they have made their choice to re-elect Godwin Obaseki and the PDP. The external forces will be those that want to subvert the will of the people. I assure you that due to the mobilisation that we want to do, their evil plan will not prevail in Edo State. But I will advise them not to make any attempt at rigging the election. Edo is not any other state. Edo is the heartbeat of the nation. So, you do not joke with your heart.

Urging security agencies and other agencies of government to ensure that the election is free, fair and credible, Aziegbemi added: “We expect that all agencies of government will be neutral. The issue of partisanship in this election will be detrimental to agencies of government. Besides, we have people everywhere too. We are not joking, we are serious.”