The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Mr Asue Ighodalo, has been advised by the Esan community to withdraw his lawsuit at the Appeal Court against Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State.
The Esan Liberation Forum stated that both Governor Okpebholo and Asue Ighodalo were supposed to be kinsmen and should not allow selfish interests to stand between them and the people they were out to serve.
Ighodalo, who hails from Esanland, was chided by his kinsmen for deliberately distracting the governor. They advised him to desist forthwith and support his brother, Senator Monday Okpebholo, who they said has brought developments to Esanland and Edo State in general.
A statement by the Esan Liberation Forum, signed by its national president, Chief Sunday Aghedo, told Asue Ighodalo to demonstrate that he was truly an Esan man by supporting the seamless wind of development blowing across Esan land and Edo State under Senator Okpebholo.
The group also expressed satisfaction over the dualization of Ekpoma- Irrua-Uromi-Ubiaja old road and the construction of the road to link Edo central senatorial district with Edo North senatorial district, passing through Uromi.
The group narrated that former Governor Godwin Obaseki was paying N40 million every month as subvention to Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, and another N50 million to a faceless consultant of the University for the past seven years, while Senator Okpebholo raised the subvention to N500 million in less than one month after resuming office as governor.
According to them, “Life has bounced back to the university as many jobs have been saved and created while the school could now admit more students.”
The Esan Liberation Forum also noted the water project and the improved security across Esanland, which has transformed the neglected land over the years.
While berating Asue Ighodalo’s silence throughout the past eight years when former Governor Obaseki neglected Edo central senatorial district, the group accused Ighodalo of complicity in Obaseki’s government and called it “conspiratorial, unpatriotic, and preposterous.”
“Esanland was cut-off from the other senatorial districts with the collapse of roads, which former Governor Obaseki frequently blamed on federal government.”
“In less than one year, Governor Okpebholo has restored many of these roads without blaming the federal government as the people can now travel from Benin city to Esanland and Edo north without frustrations.
“Now is the opportunity for Asue Ighodalo to vindicate himself that he is an Esan man. We do not want anybody to distract Governor Okpebholo from his good works with court cases.
“The three-man panel at the Election Tribunal of last month did not make mistake when they spoke in unison. Edo people have been looking for anyone who will serve them, and they have found one in Governor Okpebholo,” the statement stated.
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