By Osahon Osahon
The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, Governors of Yobe, Kano, Imo and others on Saturday stormed the ancient city of Benin for the official flag off of the governorship campaign of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives (APC) for the September 19 election in the state.
The APC vowed to reclaim Edo from the grip of Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the poll.
Addressing mammoth crowd of supporters who thronged theUniversity of Benin Sports Centre, Chairman of the APC Interim Management Committee and Governor of Yobe state, Mallam Mai Bala Buni, stressed that the party was already coasting to a resounding victory.
Buni, however, charged supporters of the party in Edo to shun violence during campaigns and during the September 19 governorship election.
He said the rally was simply to announce that the APC will retake the state, without violence.
“We are here to take back our mandate and take back our state. We are here to win, not to fight. We must ensure every vote counts.
“Last four years you voted for APC and now we want you to vote for APC and claim our state.
“You should not be involved in violence during the campaign and election, because victory is ours.
“You should ensure that you go out and vote for APC, and your votes will count,” he said.
Buni who presented the party flag to the party’s governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said that the President and national leader of the party, Muhammadu Buhari, formally endorsed the candidate last Friday, by presenting him with the same flag.
Earlier in his speech, the Chairman of the APC national campaign council and Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje, congratulated the state campaign council of the party for its unit to unit, hamlet to hamlet and village to village campaigns.
Ganduje noted that with the crowd present at the campaign flag-off, APC will win the September 19, governorship election.
He added that with the simple agenda of the party’s candidate, victory is already assured.
Also speaking former governor of the state and immediate past national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, said Ize-Iyamu is coming to re-engineer the development of the state.
He said, “When Ize-Iyamu becomes the governor, he would bring back government’s property privatised by governor Godwin Obaseki, especially the Edo Central Hospital, for both the rich and the poor.”.
In his speech, Pastor Ize-Iyamu who appreciated the Governors of Kaduna, Jigawa, Ogun, Ondo, Kebbi, Niger as well as Lagos and Kogi, who were represented by their deputies, members of the national assembly and ministers for their support, said APC will win the September election in all of the 18 LGAs in the state.
He said: “In this election, we will not only win but win the 18 LGAs. Never again will we have a governor that is an ingrate, or a governor who will not develop our state or empower our youths.”
Governors of Kaduna, Jigawa, Ogun, Ondo, Kebbi, Niger as well as Lagos and Kogi, who were represented by their deputies.
