A former Special Adviser on Environment and Public Utilities to former Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Mr Frank Adegbudo, has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has a better chance of winning the 2024 governorship election in the state if Mr Dennis Idahosa is given the party’s ticket.
Adegbudo, an APC leader in Esan South-East Local Government Area of the state, who stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in Benin, said Idahosa’s name reverberated across the nooks and crannies of the state owing to his performance as a member of the House of Representatives.
He further said that the lawmaker had no baggage that could be used against him politically, adding that his age “is something that also counts in his favour.”
He called on the party leadership at the state and national levels not to be unmindful of the fact that “it is only Idahosa out of all aspirants in Edo South that delivered his polling unit, ward, local government and constituency for President Tinubu and All Progressives Congress (APC).”
He further noted that in spite of the resistance of the state government to win at all costs, Idahosa was the only person that also delivered for the APC senatorial candidate and himself.
The APC stalwart added that the lawmaker had been consistent with his winning mentality and thus would continue with the trajectory when fielded as APC governorship candidate.
According to him, “If we are talking about structure, Idahosa already has this across the state. He has prepared himself and worked tirelessly these past years to position himself for this moment.
“He remains the only person that can defeat Obaseki and his political machines among the arrays of aspirants jostling for the APC ticket. His performance within a short spell in the National Assembly has become a reference point across the state and even the state government has not been able to match this in Ovia federal constituency. He is a youth and his candidacy will appeal to the youths across the state; his passion to see to the empowerment of women has also endeared him to them when he shared his monthly salary as commissioner to women in his federal constituency.
“Idahosa remains a reformer, a performer, and a liberator needed to liberate the state from underperformance witnessed in the past seven years,” he stated.
The politician concluded with a note that zoning should not be used as a yardstick for the party’s ticket if the party was serious about winning back the state from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to him, “At this point, what the party needs is someone with the capacity, appeal and ability to wrestle power from the PDP and not the issue of zoning.
“In any case, Idahosa is linked to the Esan in Edo central through marriage, but I honestly think APC leadership concentration should be about winning rather than zoning,” he stressed.
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