(PRESS STATEMENT)
The wailing has been much, and the rumbling thunderous.
The cries are needless, though. The contest was fairly won.
The losers are gnashing their teeth, wondering how come the voters preferred Senator Okpebholo, while the winners are clinking glasses and cavorting in turmultous joy, to celebrate well deserved victory.
Elections aftermath are usually like that though- tears, and laughter. Only one team wins, and the others are left distressed, with flashing thoughts rioting in their minds; perhaps wondering where they got it wrong. The PDP, the APC and the LP were all immersed and enmeshed in the political game, loaded with frontal attacks and weighted support. In the end, the APC’s candidate, Senator Okpebholo is the Governor- elect. Some mocked him to comic heights, and derided him, hoping to paralyze him with depression; but quite a few who knew him by the antecedents of his relationship with Edo State before this outing, supported and emboldened him. Majority of our supporters were resolute in their heart of hearts that Senator Okpebholo is the man for the office. He is a quintessential politician; a man who carries in his heart, interest in the growth, development and betterment of his homeland. A man who has not settled in any homestead, whose true home is Edo State. He is highly emotionally intelligent, and loaded with native sense. His wisdom bridges local and cosmopolitan wits. He is not a chatterbox; he may be taciturn but certainly not glossophobic. He is a doer.
Okpebholo kept reassuring his supporters and acolytes that we were going to win the election; his impetus buoyed by his acceptance across the state. They called him vulcaniser, panel beater, mechanic etc; imputing that he had humble beginnings. That in itself then means that he can seamlessly relate to the lowly, and also to the mighty; judging by his current station of life. The panel beater tag turns out allegorical, apropos of what Okpebholo is coming to do in the state. He may very well espouse it upon resumption in office. Because of the infrastructural decay and poor governance in the last eight years, Edo truly needs panel beater of a governor, to beat it into shape, and fix its broken economy, infrastructure and social fabric.
Today, the object of this my piece is essentially to congratulate, salute and felicitate our teeming supporters and benefactors. You all showed steeliness in our support, determination and doggedness throughout the course of this electoral exercise. We profusely appreciate all of you; at home, and abroad for your confidence, trust and belief in the capacity of the indomitable Akpakomiza, now the Edo Governor-elect. The man who would take our state to a lofty crest; DV. A new Edo is rising. We specially recognise our supporters in the diaspora, some of whom came in from the Americas, Canada, the UK, Holland, South Africa and many other places to show their selfless support for the aspiration of Senator Monday Okpebholo. Without your support, determination, resilience and never-say-die spirits, the journey would not have panned out the way it did. We love you, we thank you, profoundly.
Back home, our supporters were matchless. The more our opponents mocked us, the more our supporters cheered us on. Every campaign stop, was a “bomb”. Your support gave us our spine! It gave us juice for the arduous task. It was a moving train that swept through the eighteen local government areas, and the 192 wards across the state. As we drove past the shams of Governor Obaseki’s misgovernance: bad roads, bad schools, bad hospitals, we were determined that with a little push, and determination we would take home the trophy. The Akpakomiza spirit was continuously rekindled in the hearts of our supporters, energizing them like soldiers in the fields. They believed that the son of a nobody, could make more meaning in the lives of Edo people, and shunned to tricks of the supercilious technocrats or so they are called who have so far been a regret. The shout of A-K-P-A-K-O-M-I-Z-AA was the needed cry to stimulate our energies to forge ahead in the arduous journey. Bad roads we saw, bad roads we conquered. We soldiered on as a people bound by one belief, headed for a common destiny; a people that understood that Edo must be rescued. This is why we can never let the support of the people who believed in our mission go unnoticed; we thank you!
We fall short of fitting and sufficient lexicon to evince and convey our profound gratitude to all the members of the APC family, nationwide, and all other Nigerians who believed in our project. You all made it happen!!!! We have now come back with the trophy. Our Governors from other states were unanimous and unwavering in their support; they were charitable and magnanimous; and strategic also, in their interventions. They availed us gambits for a systematic approach. We thank you all, Sirs. Your deportment never caused us to scowl, flinch or wince; there were no pretenses. It was all about Edo APC and Senator Okpebholo.
On behalf of the Campaign Council, I thank Mr. President, the father of the nation; for his guidance during, and even after the campaigns. His charity in offering us very strategic chestnuts put us ways ahead. We thank you, Sir for the huge bonus. President Tinubu promised Edo people during his campaign in 2023 that he would return Edo state to APC, and that, he has done. It is indeed a fulfillment of his campaign promise. We are prodigiously grateful, Mr. President for your unflagging and unwavering support. We thank the Senate President also, the Speaker of the Federal House, and the APC Governors’ forum for their unwavering support, through it all; the camaraderie spirit within the APC is inimitable. To the National Chairman of the Party also, we say “thank you.” We are indeed very grateful for your standing by us till the end.
To all the members of the Campaign Council, we say thank you very much indeed. All the directors, our chauffeurs, security personnel, emcees, canvassers, the mobilisers in all the units, wards, local government and senatorial districts, we say “obulu.” Without your commitment and uprightness, we would not have gotten the trophy. We appreciate you all.
Last and very importantly, we thank prodigiously, our traditional rulers across the state; especially the Chairman of the Edo State Council of Traditional Rulers, the Great Oba of Benin, for standing with us in prayers and his subtle encouragement. We are reminded that respect is the bedrock of prosperity in our culture, and don’t take your royal support for granted. Senator Monday Okpebholo is more than determined to promote our cultural heritage and help the institution of traditional rulers to attain its full potentials as the custodian of our cultural heritage. To the school children, and students, who supported us even by singing our mantras, teachers, scholars, doctors, laborers, religious, Civil Society Organisations, teaching members of academia, non academic organizations in schools, industrialists, entrepreneurs, farmers, market women, women groups, and nurses, please accept our thanks and appreciation. Without your support, the battle would not have been won. We thank you, we deeply thank you.
And to several other persons and groups that we have not mentioned in this thank you message, please accept our apologies and gratitude. It is not deliberate. We assure you all of a better Edo State in no distant time. We love you all. God bless you all.
God bless Edo State, the heartbeat of the nation!!
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA
DIRECTOR OF MEDIA
EDO APC CAMPAIGN COUNCIL.
2024.
