A frontline aspirant in the 2024 Edo State governorship race, Mr John Yakubu, has listed security, stable power supply and agriculture as his top priorities when elected at the polls.
He said apart from the general security of life and property of the people, the protection of farmers from constant attacks by militia herdsmen would form the bedrock of his administration.
Yakubu, a former chairman of Esan North East local government area in 2007 and a political ally of the late minister of works, Chief Tony Anenih, said he is giving priority to the three sectors because they are critical to the development of any society.
In an interaction with journalists in Abuja, Yakubu said he is determined to fight insecurity headlong to end the frequent attacks of farmers by militia herdsmen and lamented the present situation where the herders have taken over Edo forests and prevent farmers from accessing their lands.
He believes that once his incoming administration takes care of the security situation, farmers will return to their farms and with the other incentives to be provided by his government, agriculture will be revolutionised.
On stable power supply, Yakubu, a trained accountant and an alumnus of Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi and the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Benin City, said as a key player in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution sub-sector, he had studied the model of a private university in Nigeria which has power supply 24 hours every day and will further develop it to provide the state constant electricity.
Commenting on his chances of picking the PDP governorship ticket in the face of godfatherism and factional crisis, Yakubu said the party will go for the best aspirant in order to win the election.
The aspirant, who was the running mate of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the 2026 contest, which they lost, said the present PDP in the state is so enmeshed in factional crisis and will not allow it to deteriorate through a skewed party primary election.
He added that the electorate in the state were too enlightened to be manipulated by any political godfather and recalled that in the 2023 general elections, the people voted for candidates irrespective of their political parties.
Yakubu, who is the chairman of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) in the Midwest Region (Edo and Delta States) and a major distributor of Dangote Cement, promised to fix the bad roads in the state because they were hindering the movement of people, goods and services.
He decried the deplorable state of federal roads in Edo Central Senatorial District, describing them as death traps that require urgent attention. Against this backdrop, he promised to collaborate with the federal authorities to put the roads in good shape and save the people from further ordeal.
The aspirant also promised to replicate his feats in the health and education sectors at Esan North East Council when he becomes the governor of the state.
At the council, Yakubu was known for keeping the health centres working for 24 hours, recruiting NYSC doctors to run them and training several nurses by paying school fees for several of them.
Yakubu blamed the problems of the state on corruption, citing cases of contract inflation, dubious procurement processes, and hijacking of council funds by the powers that be which he resisted as LG chairman.
According to him, as council chairman, he refused to play game and paid for it, adding that at last, he won and his constituents enjoyed the dividends of democracy in the form of new market stalls for poor traders, especially women, functioning health centres because the then governor could no longer tampered with Esan North council’s fund.
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