As the race for the Edo State governorship seat settles into a three-horse race, a former House of Representatives member representing the state, Honourable Joe Edionwele, has picked the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Asue Ighodalo, as the candidate to beat given his administrative experience.
Edionwele, who represented Esan West/Central/Igueben Federal Constituency between 2015 and 2023, affirmed during an interview that he is a better fit for the post than the other two prominent candidates because of his antecedent as a captain of industry.
The other rival candidates are serving senators Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP).
The former lawmaker said, “To me, the race is between Asue Ighodalo and others. Governance needs experience. It is not just enough to say you want to be the governor of a state without having cognate administrative experience, either in the public or private sector, and international exposure and connections. Without these, you can’t govern successfully.
“None of the other candidates have such experience as Asue has. You cannot quantify the kind of experience he has as a chairman of Nigerian Breweries, chairman of Sterling Bank, and about seven other corporate organisations. What can other candidates boast about? What are their past experiences?
“If you talk of Akpata, he only came to the limelight when he became the national president of the NBA. He doesn’t really have any working experience as such. When you talk of my senator, Okpebholo, it is almost the same thing. He always says he is a businessman. And when you talk about education, they are also not comparable.
“So, I believe that Asue is the candidate to beat. He is accessible; you can reach him anytime. If you give him a call now, he will pick up and answer you. I don’t think others have such accessibility.
“So, I think he has many things going for him. He is friendly; he is youth-friendly; he is woman-friendly; and of course, his background counts a lot. His mother was the first female permanent secretary in the Western Region; his father was a chief accountant; and his junior brother is the popular pastor, Itua Ighodalo. So, background counts, and that is why you see things working for him.
“I am sure if he wins, he can get our state fixed; he is not like those whose interest is just to loot the Treasury of Edo State. The state is set for him.”
Edionwele also weighed in on the zoning formula adopted by the two leading political parties in the state ceding the seat to Edo Central, noting that while it is welcome, the people of the state are more concerned about competence, which according to him is exemplified by the PDP flag bearer.
He added, “Yes, it is true that people are looking beyond zoning; people are looking beyond tribal sentiment. This is so because when you interact with Ighodalo, you will see his rating, his competence, and how he addresses issues with possible solutions. What we need now is a solution, and he is someone who can offer one.
“There is no road, no security. He is the one who can proffer solutions to these.
“All the other ones have talked; we have heard them, and we know they have no solutions to these problems.
“The APC candidate who is my senator is celebrating 100 days in office without being able to move any meaningful motion since he got to the Senate.
“We know how many developmental projects we were able to facilitate for our constituents during my two terms in the House of Representatives. And I have projects on the ground to show for it.”
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