Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is satisfied with the commitment of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetoku and Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to a free, fair and credible election this Saturday in Edo State.
The Governor, leader of the party in the state, who stated this while addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting of the party’s caucus, at the Government House in Benin City late last night, expressed confidence that the party will come out victorious in this Saturday, September 21 gubernatorial election.
Assuring that the PDP is ready for the polls while charging leaders and members to continue mobilizing support for the party across the state, Obaseki said: “As a caucus, we are pleased with the current utterances from the security agencies in Nigeria. We want to particularly appreciate the statement issued by the Inspector General of Police, making a commitment to support the peace process, ensuring that there is a level playing field for all the players and we endorse his efforts to draft a lot more men to Edo to support the elections on Saturday.
“We are also pleased with INEC so far and have every reason to trust the authorities of INEC and what they are committed to doing. So, our leaders are going to various local governments to continue mobilizing for citizens to come out and support our candidate who clearly stands shoulder high above other candidates in the governorship race.
“We want to say that we are ready for this election. From this meeting of the caucus of the party, we have made sure that we have covered all grounds and the leaders of our party have all assured me that they are heading back home now to cross the Ts and dot the Is on Saturday.
“We are hoping that when the Courts resume tomorrow, Tuesday, September 17th, 2024, all our people who have been detained in Abuja all these weeks will be released. If they are granted bail, allowed to come back home to their families and participate in the democratic process, we would consider signing the Peace Accord.”
Speaking on alleged INEC’s plans to postpone the governorship election, Obaseki said “the Chairman of INEC has promised that the election will be held on Saturday 21st of September 2024, so we have no reasons to doubt his words.”
In his remarks, the state Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, disclosed that “After some hours of deliberations, the State caucus of the party reviewed and endorsed all the programmes put together by the party thus far.”
“It was a deliberate and exhaustive conversation. A few areas not covered have been taken note of. We wish to State that the PDP in Edo State is ready for the election and believes very strongly that the programmes we have put together will lead us to victory,” he stressed.
“Edo people should not be afraid to come out on September 21st to cast their votes. We believe that we are one and nobody will come to hurt anybody. We are brothers and sisters in the polling units and together we will make the right choice and Edo will be better for it. We are confident that the Edo people will vote for PDP and Asue Ighodalo.”
