Tony Osauzo, Benin-City
The aspiration of immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to become the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), received more boost, on Thursday, with groups, students and politicians in Edo State pledging their support for him.
One of the groups, the Ken Obe Foundation, in a statement in Benin-City, said the APC as it is today needed a person in the mold of Oshiomhole to complement the developmental programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“As a member of the APC, I strongly believe that the kind of character we need as a party is Comrade Oshiomhole. He showed his character of ability to bring people together when he led the Nigerian Labour Congress, he did it for the eight years he spent as governor of Edo state”, the statement signed by the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Kenneth Obende said.
Obende who is an aspirant into the House of Representatives said all those opposed to the emergence of Oshiomhole as the national chairman of the party are detractors and do not wish the party well.
The Senate arm of the National Association of Edo State Students (NAES), led by its President, Osaretin Oghogho, has also Called for support for Comrade Oshiomhole.
“If we don’t humble ourselves and learn from people ahead of us, men that have set standards in the political space, inasmuch as we submit ourselves to their tutelage, it’s also incumbent on us to honour not just secretly but publicly the strings that have been pulled by these giants, giants that have not relented in making humans happy, one of these giants is Comr. Aliyu Oshiomhole.
“He has done well from his score card and deserve accolades, the body is ready to pull her weight behind his next aspiration, we on this day pass a vote of confidence on him as a man who has achieved beyond imagination”, the students said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Edo state Deputy Governor, PhilipShaibu described Oshiomhole as “our father so we have no choice than to relocate the seat of power from Edo to Abuja temporarily to give support to the father of modern Edo state, Oshiomhole”.
On his part, the state chairman of the APC, Anselm Ojezua (Esq.), said: “You know when you have a good product, you really have no much marketing to do. From the onset I have always maintained the fact that the party needs Comrade because we are at a time when so much has happened in the past four years and by reason of our constitution this is a good time for us to prepare because next year we are going to elections and the last time we spoke I told you that we need a warrior because we are going for a battle.
“But more importantly, the party must radiate trust and confidence of the people. And who is the best person to occupy that position is a man that already has the trust and confidence of generality of Nigerians.
“And Comrade is the best person. Therefore, I expect that we have been able to achieve consensus on account of the support that he has been able to acquire across the country.
“I want to specially mention Mr President for taking leadership when it mattered most. There comes a time in the life of any organization when leadership must take responsibility for the decisions of their association. So the timely involvement if Mr. President to ensure that we achieve this level of consensus in the midst of all these issues that you may see happening across the country I think it is a welcome development.
“So we are going to have a very peaceful convention, a very successful one. There after there is a lot of work to be done, I believe Comrade has the job. I believe most sincerely that within the next three months, Nigerians will begin to see why some of us believe that Comrade was the best man for the job”.