Nigeria – Edo 2024: APC Candidate Okpebholo Pledges To Continue Oshiomhole’s Legacy

By Utebor Paul, Nigeria

The All-Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, has promised to build upon the achievements of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole if elected into office.

Okpebholo made this pledge during the APC’s ward-to-ward campaign in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area.

Addressing a crowd of supporters, Okpebholo assured the people of Okpella that his administration would prioritize security and tackle the menace of kidnapping in the state.

“I want to promise Okpella people one thing, where His Excellency (Oshiomhole) stopped, that is where I will begin from. I will make sure that our land is safe; there will be no kidnapping. We will send them away because they are alien to us, they are not from here,” he stated.

Okpebholo also decried the poor state of education in Edo State, particularly the shortage of teachers and the deteriorating conditions of schools.

He recounted a conversation with a friend who lamented the lack of staff in local schools, saying, “In schools, you don’t have roofs, no teachers. One of my friends told me that in his village, he has two and a half teachers. I asked what two and a half teachers is, he said one is headmaster and two teachers. The headmaster is doing two things, sometimes he teaches, so he is half.”

The APC candidate pledged to address this issue by employing 5,000 new teachers within his first 100 days in office. He also promised to make the employment of current contract teachers permanent.

“We will employ 5,000 teachers in my first 100 days in office. Teachers who are there now as contract staff will not be part of the 5,000. I will make their employment permanent because they are already in the system. We will reposition education,” he said.

Okpebholo further outlined his plans to improve healthcare by providing Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in all wards across the state, while also supporting existing secondary healthcare facilities.

“We are going to provide PHCs in all the wards. We will support the existing secondary healthcare facilities to grow further,” he added.

As he concluded his address, Okpebholo expressed his desire to serve the people with the same dedication as Oshiomhole, who remains popular for his hands-on governance. “I will work for you because I want to be like Oshiomhole, who as governor used to walk in the streets, and after he left government, he still walks in the streets. He does that because he worked for the people.”

He urged the people of Okpella to make their voices heard during the election on September 21, calling on them to send a clear message to the current administration. “I want to beg the people of Okpella that September 21 is the D-Day. We must tell Obaseki that our mumu don do,” he declared.