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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has assured residents that his administration will continue to pursue the mandate given to it to develop the state, as he intensified mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
The governor spoke during visits to party members in Egor and Oredo local government areas, where he canvassed support for APC candidates and President Bola Tinubu.
Separately, Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa said the administration’s emphasis on security was helping to create a safer environment for investment, farming and other economic activities in the state.
Okpebholo, accompanied by APC leaders and top government officials, visited several locations in Egor and Oredo to interact with party members and mobilise support for the party.
In Egor, the team visited Ogida Barracks Police Training School and the Textile Mill, where party members from the 10 wards participated in the engagement.
In Oredo, the delegation visited Garrick Memorial College, Edokpolor Grammar School and Uwa Primary School, where the governor addressed supporters and restated his administration’s commitment to the development of the state.
Okpebholo thanked residents of Egor and Oredo for their support for APC candidates in the recently concluded local government elections and urged them to sustain it in 2027.
He asked them to support APC candidates contesting for the House of Representatives, Senate and Edo State House of Assembly, as well as Tinubu’s re-election bid.
“The turnout today in all the places visited in Egor and Oredo despite the rain speaks volumes of the love for the party and all our candidates in the general election, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We would continue to work according to the mandate Edo people gave to us. We would work for the growth and development of the state and the party.
“I am standing in the gap for President Tinubu and know we are all committed to ensuring we deliver 2.5 million votes for his re-election in 2027,” the governor said.
On the condition of roads in the state, Okpebholo said his administration was working to rehabilitate bad roads and make them motorable.
“The bad roads in the state didn’t happen today. The roads have been there before we came to power, but we are working to ensure all the bad roads are fixed.
“We would work to ensure all roads in the state are motorable. This is the reason why you voted for us,” he said.
Deputy Governor Idahosa, who was also part of the mobilisation activities, urged party members to continue supporting the APC and its candidates in the forthcoming elections.
Edo APC Chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, similarly urged members to support the governor’s target of delivering 2.5 million votes for Tinubu.
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“We did it before during the local government elections where we garnered 2,158,600 votes. This has shown that the 2.5 million votes is very achievable. The governor is a party man and the party is doing well,” Tenebe said.
Chairmen of Egor and Oredo local government councils, Osaro Eribo and Gabriel Iduseri, respectively, also appealed to residents to sustain their support for the party and its candidates.
Meanwhile, speaking separately when a delegation from the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), led by its Programme Director, Dr. Effiong Essien, visited him, Idahosa said improved security was central to the administration’s development strategy.
He said the government’s policies, programmes and legislative measures had contributed to efforts to reduce crime and strengthen the justice system, particularly in tackling kidnapping, cultism and other criminal activities.
Idahosa said security remained critical to economic development because investors and farmers could only operate effectively when they were confident about the safety of their lives, businesses and farmlands.
“In any nation where there is security, investors and transformation would come.
“It is only when it is safe for our mothers to go to the farm that they can go to the farm and be productive.
“Security is number one in the SHINE Agenda. It shows the governor’s emphasis on security and even agriculture,” the deputy governor said.
He said the administration’s security drive was closely linked to its efforts to improve agricultural production and achieve greater food sufficiency.
According to him, farmers needed secure communities and farmlands to increase production, while investors also required confidence in the security environment before committing resources.
Idahosa thanked PIND, on behalf of the governor, for choosing Edo as a base for some of its human capital development programmes and assured the organisation of the government’s readiness to collaborate with it.
He said several corporate social responsibility interventions by multinational companies, particularly those affecting rural communities, were being implemented through partnerships involving PIND.
The deputy governor described the organisation’s interventions as needs-driven, saying its projects were designed around the specific needs of communities and beneficiaries while strengthening relevant value chains.
Earlier, Essien said PIND was committed to promoting peace and equitable economic growth in the Niger Delta by bringing governments, communities, businesses and development partners together to address common challenges.
He said the organisation’s interventions focused on reducing poverty, strengthening coastal communities, promoting youth employment, fostering stability and supporting sustainable development across the region.
Essien appealed for the state government’s collaboration in establishing safe farm corridors, strengthening agricultural value-chain actors and reactivating the Udo Skills Development Centre for practical training, entrepreneurship and youth employment.
He also requested the designation of a government focal person to receive early-warning information from peace actors across the 18 local government areas to enable authorities respond to potential conflicts before they escalate.
