Members of a dissatisfied APC support group operating as “Friends of Senator Okpebholo,” have defied efforts to reduce the number of aspirants for the Edo State Governorship election and have purchased Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for a serving senator.
The forms were allegedly purchased without the approval and knowledge of Sen. Monday Okpebho on Tuesday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat after the group, led by Barrister Musa Ikhilor paid N50 million for the mandatory documents.
Observers believe that the support group’s move, which came after the party trimmed the number of aspirants from 29 to six contenders following recommendations by a committee headed by Senator Adam’s Oshiomhole, may throw spanners into APC’s ongoing arrangements to organise a hitch-free congress in Edo State.
While speaking on arrangements which led them into buying the party’s gubernatorial forms for the upcoming 2024 elections for the Senator, the group’s leader Barr. Musa Ikhilor said: “It is a remarkable honour for us to be here today. We are friends of Senator Monday Okpebholo. We came all the way from different parts of the country, especially Edo state and we are sons of the state.
“We are buying forms for our candidate because we are very much interested in what is happening in Edo state.
“We decided to come together to find a suitable person who can give Edo people a breath of fresh air and we have looked round and found Sen. Monday Okpebholo, as someone who is very capable to provide that breath of fresh air for Edo people.
“This was why as friends, we decided to take a bold step to purchase this particular Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for him. He is not even aware of how this forms were purchased but that is the kind of person he has been.
“Even as a senator, he faced this similar pressure from us because we saw what he was doing. All the interventions he has given to the poor and the downtrodden and all the projects he has done. We have told him that he needs a bigger platform to do more for the people.
“This was how he was convinced to come into the Senate race and we are aware that he broke a jinx set for over 24 years by being the first Senator to do something that has not been done in the whole of Edo Central Senatorial District.
“We are taking that spirit to the whole of Edo state and that is why we decided to contribute money and purchase the forms for him to contest. We are going to present the form to him.
“The presentation is an absolute expression of confidence in his capacity and capability to transform Edo state and turn things around for the people of Edo.
“We are ready to stake whatever it takes, our money, time, and resources to buy the necessary forms while he will do others. So far, what we were able to raise is even more than the amount for the forms. Others will go into mobilizing for him,” the co-ordinator of the group of friends stated.
On the effort to reduce the number of contestants, he said, “We have heard much about the so-called anointed aspirants and we think it is a good thing that the party leadership intervened to reduce the rancour by trimming the number of aspirants from the large number of 29. From what we heard, there were different stages and criteria that the aspirants went through before accepting to abide by the resolutions to go through the screening.
“It was initially pruned down to 10, and from the information we heard, it was further pruned down from six to four. We are happy that by the special Grace of God, our principal is going to be among the last four standing. We are very delighted that he is found worthy to be selected by the elders to be among the four anointed aspirants.
“However our project goes beyond the screening and pruning down. We have absolute belief that he is the right person for the job because he is an unusual character. He is not the regular career politician. He is a positive disruptor and he is going to be a game changer and the right person to rule Edo state,” he could concluded.
Recall that stakeholders and party strategists in the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) last week agreed to trim down the number of aspirants for the November Governorship elections for strategic reasons.
As at Friday, January 19, 2024, twenty-nine aspirants collected certified documents after paying the N50 million prescribed for Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms by the party headquarters. The APC earned more than N1.4 billion from the sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms from the aspirants excluding the amount expected to be earned from would-be delegates who will vote at the congress.
The high number of aspirants became an major issue and it prompted the leadership to convene a crucial meeting with those seeking to run and other relevant stakeholders of the party from the state where the APC National Chairman backed by members of the National Working Committee (NWC) pleaded with some of the aspirants to peacefully step down for more capable ones to enable the party make better impact at the polls. Ends.
