The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday declared that the forthcoming Edo State governorship election will be a referendum on the performance of All Progressives Congress (APC) as a the ruling party.
The national spokesman of the party, Debo Ologunagba, made the declaration during an interactive session with journalists at the party national secretariat in Abuja.
He said that the APC gubernatorial candidate, Monday Okpebholo, has nothing to tell the people of the state, hence he has been in hiding.
The PDP spokesperson challenged Okpebholo to debate saying: “We challenge the APC candidate to make himself available to media interview and scrutiny. If Monday Okpebholo is indeed putting himself for public office, he should make himself available for public scrutiny.
“Monday Okpebholo should stop running from the media if he has anything to offer to the good people of Edo State. PDP insists that Okpebholo should make himself available for a public debate.”
“No wonder the APC candidate has been avoiding the media and town hall engagements with the people of Edo State. He is afraid to be confronted with the issues of lack of capacity and allegations which he has failed to respond to,” he added.
This, he said is in contrast with Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the PDP, who he said is also already coasting home to victory.
He observed that Ighodalo enjoys support across political parties.
According to the PDP national publicity secretary, APC has done too much damage to the country.
Noting that the people have accepted Ighodalo, he said: “This is evident in the organic crowd and follower-ship in our rallies across all the Wards in the State, where the majority of Edo people, including prominent members of the APC, have publicly expressed support for our Candidate.
“You will observe that in Edo State today, it is our candidate that is campaigning. Asue Ighodalo’s popularity and acceptability by the majority of the people of Edo State have dwarfed, dumbed and incapacitated the APC and its candidate, Monday Okpebholo.”
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He said whereas APC has nothing to sell apart from hunger and frustration, the PDP has a robust campaign and engagement with the people through its manifesto which he said had been accepted by the people.
“We have a party or government that is not listening. It’s impervious and arrogant in failure. Edo will be a referendum on APC,” he stated.
Ologunagba added that PDP state administrations have become oasis of development in the country going by their observable achievements in the different states.
The PDP spokesperson accused former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole of peddling rumors about purported disqualification of the party’s gubernatorial candidate, saying that going on national television to make such claims is beneath the serving senator.
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