By Omeiza Ajayi, Abuja
A former Chairman of Esan North-East Local Government Area in Edo state, John Yakubu has urged the people of the state to support the Central Senatorial District to produce the next governor for the sake of equity, justice and fairness.
The ex-Council boss who is vying for the governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, made the appeal in an interview with Vanguard in Abuja.
He said his ambition to govern the state is to make it more productive and economically viable, recalling his days as council boss and how he was able to bring concrete development to his people.
Yakubu who was the running mate to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the PDP candidate in the 2016 Edo State Governorship Election, said the Central district boasts of capable hands to steer the state to greatness.
He said; “When people are talking about zoning to Edo Central, they are talking about equity, fairness and justice because overtime and since 1999, Edo South has had its share for 16 years; Edo North also for eight years as governor and 16 years as deputy, making 24 years. So, you see that the position had been shared between Edo South and North. But we are all Edo people and fair is fair.
“It is right that we also have capable hands from Edo Central to lead the state. We have done it before when Ambrose Alli was governor of the old Bendel State. He was able to do a lot in spite of the fact that he was from the minority. Till today, everybody still sings praises of Ambrose Alli and we still have people today like Ambrose Alli in Edo Central. This is why our people are not just sitting down at home believing that political parties will zone it to us. They have gone beyond that, moving across the state to appeal to the consciences of other districts.
“I strongly believe that even all the parties are moving in that direction to see how Edo Central can come into that position because for a long time, they had been shortchanged. But we are not just bringing that to the table because that will be dangerous. We are bringing capacity to the table. We are bringing integrity and we are telling them that we can even perform better than any other person given the opportunity to take the leadership position in Edo State. Even on the streets today, what the voters are saying is that it is the turn of Edo Central and as you know, political parties constitute just about 20 percent of voters. The mass of people are saying it is the turn of Central”, he stated.
Source: Vanguard