By Lucky Isibor
The governorship candidate of Accord Party in the September Edo governorship election, Comrade Kennedy Iyere has called on Edo people to reject their haters and oppressors and their candidates in the gubernatorial election, noting that they can not afford to use their votes to put into power those who have been the destroyers and plunderers of their common wealth.
Comrade Iyere made the call at Auchi last Sunday while addressing a group of his supporters and members of Accord Party. The meeting which was convened to fine tune arrangements for the constitution of the Accord Party Gubernatorial Campaign Council was attended by representatives from all the wards in Edo North Senatorial District.
He tasked the people not sell their votes in the September Edo governorship election and urged them to reflect and ask themselves what they have gained in the past 24 years that they have sold their votes to the destroyers of their common wealth.
While pointing out that he’s not coming to run the conventional campaigns, he assured that he will be reaching out to every Edo voter, every village, harmlet, town and city in Edo State to explain to them why they must reject their oppressors in the September governorship election.
“I’m not coming to run the conventional campaigns, I am going to focus on every body. I want to reach out to every village by the name of that village, every town by the name of that town, every city by the name of that city; that’s what I want to do. I want to to talk to the people that for 24 years we have sold our votes, for 24 years we have sold our votes over a plate of rice, over a bottle of beer; for 24 years we have sold our votes for promises that were never made real, we became too gullible to a fault, to the point that we have started now idolising our haters and the destroyers of our common wealth, the plunderers of our common wealth.
“In the last 24 years show me the Governor in Edo State that has attracted foreign direct investment into the state that has employed over a thousand of our people. Look at all the indices of development; access to health care, we’re zero; access to quality education, we’re zero; access to nutrition, we’re zero; access to infrastructure, we’re zero; access to human capital development, we’re zero; access to human productivity, we’re zero.”
While noting that the situation in Edo State and Nigeria can only get worse than it is now if the people do not change the narratives, the Accord Party governorship hopeful assured that he would tap the agricultural and tourism potentials in Edo State to attract foreign direct investments to create jobs.
“Nigeria can only be worse than the bad that it has been only if we fail to change the narratives. I want to make you to work with me, work for us Edo people to win the election and dislodge our oppressors. We will adopt a campaign model that will make them spend the money but we’ll win the votes. We are also going to spend money as allowed by the electoral regulation, but not to buy the future of our people.
“They’re spending their money to buy the future of the people, spending to steal away your future.
“Edo has arable land of 1.6 million hectares. There used to be farm settlements at Ekpoma, the whole of Okada is very good for rice farming, Agbede is also good. The candidates of our oppressor parties don’t have these ideas because they lack knowledge of our local geography.
“Edo is richer than Austria. See the Benin moat. Tourism alone can sustain Edo State if harnessed”.