Ize-Iyamu Will Defeat Obaseki, With a Wide Margin~ Inegbeniki

Chief Francis Inegbeniki, the UZOYA of Esanland, is a Chieftain and the Edo Central Senatorial Leader of All Progressive Congress (APC), in Edo State.

 In this Special Interview, he declares that, his party’s governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, will defeat Governor Godwin Obaseki overwhelmingly, in the September 19th governorship election in Edo state. 

Excerpts;

 Q~ *How did you see the APC primary as one of the leaders of the party in Edo state?*

A~ First, I want to congratulate Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for the resounding victory in the primaries. As a leader of APC in Edo Central Senatorial District and from the available records I have around the five Local Governments Areas of Edo Central, the Esan people gave Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu a lot of votes more than 80 percent if I am not mistaken, from the total votes cast in Edo Central. 

I also thank the National Working Committee of the party for approving direct primaries, because, the direct primaries offer our people the opportunity to partake in deciding who governs them. 

So, that is really democracy at work. I thank the NWC and advice that in subsequent elections in other states, direct primaries should be used. It gives the people at the grassroots that sense of belonging that they actually voted for the man who eventually becomes their governor. 

The election is as good as won, come September 19, Pastor Ize-Iyamu will be declared the governor of Edo State, the reason is very clear. It is clear in the sense that PDP is fielding Governor Godwin Obaseki and it is just a wasted ticket. 

Let me particularly advice the National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus that their ticket to Obaseki is a wasted ticket. that ticket is just as worthless like Zimbabwe dollars.

Q~ *What is your advice generally to the people of Edo State?*

A~ Edo people should wake up. Only recently, we are beginning to see documents of how Obaseki looted Edo State treasury, are we going to talk about the Agripreneur, the Agric money from CBN. Edo people should open their eyes, shine your eyes very well, before saying Obaseki worked. 

Where is the work? I challenge Godwin Obaseki to publish in five Nigerian newspapers all the projects he has executed in Edo State, since he became governor and the allocation he has collected. If he fails to bring them out, we will publish it soon, the total allocation that Godwin Obaseki has collected in almost four years. 

I challenge him, he should publish what he has done, publish the allocation he has received and other statutory money he has received, he should publish it. Edo people will discover that tax payers money have been looted. 

Where did Obaseki get the money that he has been sharing to PDP to get their ticket? He has put all PDP Chairmen as SSA, sharing money all over. Where did he get the money? 

I am also calling on EFCC to please beam their searchlight on Edo State Treasury. They should help us to follow our money to know where and how it was spent. 

Some Local Government Chairmen now cannot pay salaries, ask them what happened to their money, we are aware, let me quote some figure, the sum of N100m is being deducted from Local Government Accounts nearly every month. I was reliably informed and the money they've stashed in an account.

 

So, I am asking Edo people, I am begging them to shine their eyes, when you vote people into position ask them questions, they should be accountable. 

Q~ *How do you see Obaseki leaving the APC to PDP?*

A~ It is good riddance to bad rubbish! In fact let me describe it, Obaseki’s exit from APC is like 200kg of rice that somebody is carrying on his head and at the same time, you tell the same person to trek a long distance with it. 

By the time you remove that bag from his head he will feel a sigh of relief, we thank God he is gone! it would have been difficult to campaign for him, I don’t know what he is going to campaign with now, most of those small, small roads he did they were done by SEEFOR World Bank project, and Edo state money in it, is about 10 percent. The ones in Edo Central and the few streets he tarred in Edo south, are all SEEFOR World Bank projects. 

So, let him publish all the road projects he claimed to have executed, we are waiting. Others were done by NDDC, we are waiting we have the records. So it is a heavy load that has left the head of APC, and let PDP inherits that load, which they have inherited which is why I am advising them to get prepared to feel the weight of the load. 

Q~ *So, does it not bother your party, that, some of the governor’s followers are leaving the APC to join him in PDP?*

A~ It is unfortunate that some people are not reading it very well. Some of those Local Government Chairmen or most of them are our boys that we appointed to go there they are only there because they want to preserve their job, or save their job. 

Let me tell you this, I am from Esan Central Local Government Area, today, three Councilors, including the councilor from my ward 9 Opoji,  refused to decamp to PDP, they are now forcing them to cross to PDP and these councillors refused and said they are not going to cross, today they have been suspended. 

Three councilors suspended from Esan Central LGA, two suspended from Esan North East LGA, same with Esan West and Esan South East LGAs. But, let me tell you, that there is no cause for alarm. 

The people that left APC with Obaseki, I can tell you authoritatively, that, they are all his appointees. Count them, are they up to hundred? If they are, maybe a little above hundred! That is, the Councilors, Chairmen, SAs and Commissioners, that is all! Those are the people with him, and they will not make any significant impact. But, I assure you that, some of them will come back to us, when that time comes but we are telling them to wait and collect some money from him. You know he is tight fisted, so, they can only use their salaries to collect money from him that is it! 

Q~ *Now that Obaseki has emerged the candidate of the PDP, do you see Ize-Iyamu having a smooth sail against an incumbent governor?*

A~ As one of the formost Edo APC leader, I can tell you honestly, that a man who could not win his own ward during the Presidential and National House of Assembly Elections, after boasting to Mr. President, that he will give him one million votes can not win election. I was there, when he told the President, that he will give him one million votes, but he did not win his own ward. He does not have any electoral value! 

 Ize- Iyamu is a grassroots politician he will beat him to silly! APC will beat PDP to silly! Look, with Obaseki as a candidate, we will not do so much work because he has nobody behind him on the day of election. 

A man that was actually a force in the PDP has left, that was Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. The moment he left, he left with hundreds of thousands of his supporters, what you are seeing there is a ship that is bent ready to sink. So we do not need to do so much work, it will be very easy for us with Obaseki as PDP candidate!