Ahead of the Edo State 2024 Governorship election slated for September 21, 2024, former spokesman to former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, has joined the Edo State governorship race, saying infrastructural decay, leadership deficiency, amongst others, as presently experienced in the state, made him to join the race, with a view to correcting such.
Afegbua who was also Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Special Adviser (Media) and Commissioner for Information and Orientation to former Governor of the state, now Senator Representing Edo North senatorial zone, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, disclosed his aspiration when he visited the Correspondents Chapel Secretariat of Edo NUJ, yesterday, lamenting that due to the present “needless squabbles and altercations among the leaders of the ruling party in our state,” Edo people are “disoriented by the politics of pretense and high handedness,” stressing that this shouldn’t be.
Afegbua, who is running the governorship race on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said he is contesting in order to “seamlessly reposition the state in sync with national reckoning, and fully explore the opportunities beckoning to us.”
He added: “We cannot afford to be in opposition, when we have a Federal Government that is poised to renew our hope and take us to a place of prosperity, economic strength, stability, and pride.
“I am determined to make a big difference with positive impacts. With your support, I will redefine the essence of governance for the benefit of our people.
“The era of lamentation will be gone when I take the lead. Edo must rise again; she must rise from the ashes of this present mis-governance, to a state that will occupy its rightful place in the assembly of states in Nigeria. Edo state deserves more than just a passing interest.”
Afegbua, who lamented that “Edo is seriously begging for attention with the level of infrastructural decay and leadership deficiency,” said: “I can’t stand the kind of roads I saw while traveling through the state.
“Immediately I am sworn in, I will start working on our roads. Mobility is key in any human existence. How do we encourage our rural farmers to take their farm produce to the urban centres when our roads are in bad shape. So, road infrastructure will be my number one priority.”
He added: “Education will follow. I will continue the red roof revolution of the government before this present administration. This is because that particular policy helped in covering infrastructural decay and rots, but unfortunately this government has since abandoned that particular sector.”
He said he would make the health sector his third priority, just as he added, “I have tried to search for Godwin Obaseki government’s new health centres; community health services and lots more, but I haven’t seen any.”
He stated that he is “very passionate about resetting the political architecture and dynamics of the state, through purposeful leadership that will birth a new lease of life for us all as a people.”
“I am encouraged by the knowledge of the natural resourcefulness and ingenuity that lie in our people, and their can-do spirit, now unfortunately in despondency,” he added.
Speaking on the agitation to zone the governorship ticket to Edo central, the aspirant said: “There has never been zoning arrangement of governorship positions in Edo State. Anybody who says there is zoning will be missing the point.”
He added: “In 2007, when Oshiomhole came on stream to contest the position, as at that time Edo Central had three ministers yet Osunbor who is also from central was elected governor. Now, from that time till now, every primary conducted by political parties has always been featuring every aspirant from all the zones. So, this time, nothing of zoning should stop any worthy son of Edo to aspire to govern Edo.
