BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign train has made a stop-over in Edo State with President Bola Tinubu passionately begging the electorate to give him a second term in office to push critical federal infrastructure projects across the finish line and cement the gains of his administration.
Delivering the message to APC supporters at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented the President, said the upcoming ballot is a decisive mandate for continuity and transformation for the country.
President Tinubu said at the campaign rally, which also doubled as a celebratory milestone to mark the second anniversary of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration in the state, “We have come this far with your trust and we seek your mandate to finish the work we have begun,”
Maintaining that the Federal Government had embarked on several infrastructure, power and healthcare projects in Edo state, Vice President Shetima said the administration deserved to be judged by its impact on citizens, adding: “We ask that our stewardship be judged by the lives our decisions have touched and the work we are determined to complete.”
The Vice President, who listed the ongoing dualisation of the Benin-Ekpoma, Benin-Auchi and Benin-Okene roads, as well as emergency repairs on the Benin-Asaba road as part of the good job done so far, explained that the completed Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline would support power generation, while new transmission lines could add 600 megawatts to the national grid.
He also cited the radiotherapy centre at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, and Federal Government support for 158 public health facilities across Edo as evidence of the administration’s commitment to healthcare.
Making reference to the ancient city’s rich cultural heritage, Vice President Shettima said progress had been made towards the return of the Benin artefacts, with Cambridge and Sweden transferring ownership of some treasures to Nigeria, even as he expressed confidence that the combination of Tinubu’s federal projects and Okpebholo’s performance would secure victory for the APC in the January 16, 2027 election.
2.5m votes A Done Deal – Okpebholo
On his part, Governor Monday Okpebholo declared that Edo State was ready for Tinubu’s re-election, saying the President deserved nothing less than total victory for his support to the state.
According to him, “Mr President has done so much for Edo people. About 15,000 Edo citizens are benefiting from NELFUND. Edo is now a construction site because of the courage of one man, Mr President, who removed fuel subsidy and reformed our tax system”.
This is as the governor repeated his earlier pledge to deliver about 2.5 million votes for Tinubu come next year’s presidential elections.
Also speaking at the rally, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said APC leaders in the South-South had resolved to deliver more votes for Tinubu than any other geopolitical zone.
Citing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the allocation of resources to states under the administration’s fiscal reforms and other infrastructure projects as reasons for the region’s support, Senator Akpabio declared: “We have resolved that no zone will beat us in the election.”
The Senate President also listed the recruitment of more than 500 forest guards from Edo youths and the establishment of the Nigerian Army’s 83 Division in the state among the President’s contributions to the development of the South South state.
For the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, improved security in the South-South had helped raise crude oil production to about 1.8 million barrels per day from barely one million barrels.
He said security and saving lives and communities remained the first priority of the APC manifesto, adding that the party was looking to Edo for two million votes.
Former Edo governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, described Okpebholo’s administration as one that had matched promises with performance, saying: “In the last 24 months, the governor has been building roads, building flyovers, empowering market women, building and equipping public schools, building and equipping health centres. He has the people with him”.
He pleaded with the voters to support APC candidates across board, including the President and the party’s three senatorial candidates, insisting that Tinubu requires a cooperative Senate to implement his policies.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, urged Edo voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, ahead of the election.
Expressing confidence that the 2.5 million-vote target set by Governor Okpebholo was achievable, Governor Uzodimma said: “If you collect your Permanent Voter Card, you have the weapon. The weapon we need on January 16 is the PVC.”
