THE APC gubernatorial candidate, Monday Okpebholo a.k.a Agbakomiza has not in any way impressed Edo people; even as a Senator, he ranks amongst Senators who haven’t passed any bill in the last ten months; Agbakomiza strikes no cord of intelligence, he appears uninteresting, uninspiring and has not proven fit to drive the new Edo project.
Okpebholo is a far cry from the man Edos now desires to govern them; the new Edo project, requires more than just a regular politician to drive it.
A vast understanding of the new Edo project, viz, the policy direction, is a major prerequisite when discussing Edo’s next Governor; Okpebholo has not shown any semblance of readiness to steer that dream; he is not talking to the people he wants to lead, he is known to only move at night, visiting politicians, he appears solely dependent on the elite, a class of people who, as a result of countless betrayals of public trust, no longer enjoy popular followership amongst the people.
It did not take the elite community to build the new Edo project; only the best hands as assembled by the Obaseki-led administration, with a passionate and visionary leadership, ably provided by Obaseki, was required to establish the all-important project.
An assembly of bright-minded men, women and youths from all walks of life, coming together to conjugate bits and pieces of ideas, to build a sustainable system for the good of Edo; a system now on the verge of being sustained and built on by the AiO² combo.
Today, the AiO² brand reverberates through the corners of Edo, the duo have shown capacity and readiness to drive the project; day-in-day-out, they continue to engage Edo people across the board, presenting their manifesto for popular buy-in; men, women, youths, artisans, academics, market women, students, professionals, even Edos in diaspora have all shown immense satisfaction with the AiO² brand.
On a weekly, new groups are turning up, throwing their weight behind the Ighodalo-Ogie movement; Edo people are convinced that they are the best and most formidable pair to succeed Obaseki, a Governor, who would be living a big shoe for his successor to step in.
Arguably, Obaseki has reinvented socio-infrastructural development in Edo, he has built a system for a long-term cross-cultural development, cutting across Education, health, security, improved fiscal returns, civil and public service reforms, local government reforms, youth engagement, Obaseki has opened the frontiers of Edo for local and international buy-in, a system that now has a ready market for foreign investors must be seen to be sustained, maintained and preserved.
The APC has no understanding of what we are doing in Edo State, reason they continue to criticize the process; a digitalized civil and public service system that has reduced manual errors, leading to efficiency, speed and accuracy in our public service.
A revenue generation system that sealed loopholes, blocking leakages and ensuring optimum financial returns needed to build improved infrastructure and enhance essential services deserves significant level of sustainability; no doubt Edo stands solidly on a turning point, a point of success that means nothing to the APC, simply because the Party and its managers lacks understanding of the process leading to Edo’s prosperity.
Okpebholo has not made any directional or policy statement that suggests he may be ready for the job; we are aware he can’t speak simple and correct English for 5 minutes without mutilating grammar, a trait that has kept him apart from those he aspires to lead; while AiO² are daily engaging the vast majority of Edo people who are the actual voters, Okpebholo is busy globetrotting from one aggrieved PDP member’s house to another at night, to draw to his APC; an old political tactics, that will hold no water in Edo’s electoral situation ahead September.
Okpebholo hasn’t shown any conviction before the Edo electorates; these days, except for the sole purpose of rigging, those who aspire to lead a people must regularly engage them, providing a viable ground for cross-cultural engagement and cross-pollination of ideas; apart from the everyday politicians, Okpebholo is not talking to Edo people, a trait suggestive of his sole dependence on the rigging machine.
If Okpebholo were to speak to Edo people, what is his content? What policy statement or direction would he be bringing to the table? What extraordinary idea would he be proposing for a greater Edo? What health, education, market and industrialization policy would he be presenting for popular buy-in?
For a Senator who has been off the radar of policy articulation and productive engagement with his constituents in the last ten months, one would wonder what he has to offer as Edo State Governor; a State that has become a bastion of development and growth from which subnational governments now borrow policies to develop their homefront.
While Asue Ighodalo continue to engage young people, tech players, industry giants, students and the creatives, Osarodion Ogie on the other hand, is successfully forging pathways for improved political orientation/sensitization, as various groups daily throw their weight behind the AiO² project; a movement that has become a popular sing-song in the hearts and minds of Edo people at home and abroad.
Today’s Edo deserves more than what the APC may have to offer; the minimum Edo deserves now is one who can rally Edo’s towards a common cause, harness Edo’s human and material resources to make the state a first world economy, encourage creativity and innovation amongst young people, forge productive partnerships with industry giants for sustainable industrialization of the State, improve the State’s revenue to rake-in more funds for quality infrastructure, and keep Edo on the radar of public admiration.
Taking a cursory look at the men in front, and considering the level of engagement the AiO² duo and their agents are putting up, and further considering the crass lack of understanding the APC gubernatorial candidate has of the new Edo policy direction, it can best be said that he, Okpebholo is not a good brand for the new Edo project.
Let’s run with AiO².
N’Edo Gha Ma.
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