Edo Central Traders Urged To Support APC Candidate

As the intra-party crisis in the Peopl’s Democratic Party (PDP) lingers, traders in Edo Central Senatorial District have been called upon to vote for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to prevent a particular candidate from being foisted on Esanland.

Addressing the traders in Ekpoma Market yesterday, the chairperson of the Amalgamated Traders Union in Esanland (Edo Central), Mrs Eunice Okojie Ebue, said those “we have voted for in the past eight years have betrayed us and we should reject them at the next election.”

In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP Friday on the rally, she said that “the cost of transporting goods to Edo Central has increased because of the bad roads. Those we supported eight years ago did not fix the roads, so we will not support them again. We will not waste our votes for those seeking third term because the tradition of this land forbids third term, especially when you have failed woefully.

“We will not support the party that is bringing the same person who has been there as senator for eight years for another four years. That means we will just die in this bad condition.

“If we vote for you again, when the rainy season starts, we will begin to regret because we know we have entered another ‘one chance’. When the rains start now, we will not be able to bring goods to the markets across Edo Central,” Ebue said.

Ebue, who addressed the traders, urged them to rather support Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to become the next senator for Edo Central since he had promised to repair the roads in Esanland.

Last week, the Supreme Court gave a verdict which favoured the incumbent Senator Clifford Ordia against the former minister of works, Dr Mike Onolememe. Both of them have been in court over the rightful senatorial candidate in Edo Central for the PDP.

Ordia who is a two-term senator and member of the PDP faction loyal to Governor Godwin Obaseki, has been accused of betraying the gentleman agreement of power rotation in the party in the senatorial district.

The political atmosphere in Edo central is however made tense with Okpebholo, a scion of the late Chief Tony Anenih political empire, contesting for the Senate seat under the platform of the APC.