Victor EzejaGovernorship candidate of the Labour Party in Enugu State, Hon. Chijioke Edoga, has expressed confidence in winning the election taking place on Saturday, 18th March election.
He said the desperate moves by his opponents, who according to him are struggling to drag the state back to dark days, will not come to fruition, adding that it is like the last kick of a dying horse.
Edoga, a former commissioner and one-time House of Representatives member, while interacting with journalists, described the Obidient movement, regarded as the engine room of the Labour party, as the greatest event in Nigeria’s political history.
He said the movement has broken the barriers of ethnicity, religion and age demographics and expressed his delight in the efforts of the Obidients that “resulted in Obi being officially declared the winner in the two most important and cosmopolitan states in Nigeria, Lagos, the country’s commercial centre, and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, the administrative capital.”
“What we are seeing today is what someone has described as the last kicks of a dying horse,” he said, decrying the “desperate efforts of the candidate of a particular candidate” in his home state of Enugu to introduce sectarian and clannish politics in the struggle for the governorship.
Edeoga criticised his major opponents as crass opportunists for opposing Peter Obi and working for other presidential candidates during the presidential electioneering campaign, “but are now claiming to belong to the Obidient Movement.
“We saw their billboards two weeks ago advertising Obi’s rivals, and they now think our people have all of a sudden forgotten their awful antecedents.”
The LP candidate urged Enugu people to vote Labour Party in not just the governorship but also in the state assembly election, adding that he would work with people who understand and share the vision of new social order to lift the state to a greater height when elected.
“I need to work as the Enugu State governor with members of the House of Assembly who understand and share the vision of a new social order in our dear state.
“The Labour Party will do better than in the February 25 election that saw outgoing Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the PDP beaten by Okey Ezea of the Labour Party who scored 104,948 votes as opposed to Ugwuanyi who managed to get a mere 46,948 votes,” he boasted.
READ ALSO: Tension Builds In Enugu As March 18 Guber, State Assembly Polls Approach
In a video message, Edoga thanked the Enugu people for their overwhelming support for Labour Party in the state as indicated in the massive vote for the party in the 25th February election.
He urged the people to protect their communities so that invaders in the form of armed thugs will not have access to cause mayhem on election day.
He accused the Peoples Democratic Party of importing thugs into the state to cause violence and subvert the will of the people during the election. He said that “the outcome of the last presidential and National Assembly elections has jolted the PDP into desperation, hence their moves to win by all means.
He said: “Now in Enugu State, stories are ripe of the infiltration of Enugu State from outside with imported, especially by the PDP to affect the right of the people to determine who chooses them.
“I urge our people in Enugu State to stand up and be firm and resolute that their vote must count and that they must elect those they want to elect in an atmosphere that is devoid of thuggery and all evil machinations.”
He called on all security agencies to intervene and ensure that the citizens are allowed to exercise their rights in a safe environment.
He said that he has alerted relevant authorities about the evil plot to militarise the elections, and was assured that they would provide adequate protection for the citizens in line with directives of President Muhammadu Buhari that Enugu State must have a free and fair election.
He said that his team has conducted a robust campaign and noted that judging from the last election, the party is sure of victory.
He reiterated his call for the people to strongly defend their votes, expressing optimism that what happened in 2003 when armed thugs were deployed all over the state to maim and destroy opponents, would not repeat itself as citizens’ awareness and engagement have heightened.
Some suspected armed thugs were reportedly arrested in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area by military men on Saturday. The military men reportedly handed them over to the Isi-Uzo Divisional Police station at Ikem.
Edoga thanked the security operatives for their prompt actions and vigilance in parts of the state and urged them not to relent.
He further alleged that what happened in Isi-Uzo is part of a general assignment given to all the council chairmen under PDP in the state to infiltrate communities with armed thugs to cause violence and attack people on Election Day.
Following the growing concern over the threat of violence in the forthcoming election, Heads of security agencies in the state have reportedly invited council chairmen and leaders of political parties to sign a peace pact to ensure a rancour-free poll.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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