Gov Monday Okpebholo 


A civil society group, Edo State, Edo Alliance Group, has expressed confidence that Governor Monday Okpebholo and the party will emerge victorious in the elections petition tribunal.


This assurance is coming on the heels of the party presenting only one witness at the tribunal sitting in Abuja and closing its case.


“We are certain that Governor Okpebholo will emerge victorious at the tribunal. All the talk of not presenting witnesses is immaterial. Judicial theatrics by the PDP and Asue Ighodalo amounts to a waste of judicial time.


“For anyone that has followed election petition tribunals in this country would realise that calling of witnesses is not the fulcrum of success. In 2019, the APC and President Buhari did not need to present any witnesses to floor the PDP and other parties at the tribunal, and this won’t be any different,” Osato Idemudia stated in a press statement, Tuesday in Abuja.


Idemudia stressed that the PDP and its governorship candidate in the Edo governorship election were simply fishing for what is non-existent, urging Ighodalo to abandon the suit just like other parties have done for the peace and wellbeing of the state.


“It is germane for the PDP and Asue Ighodalo to take a cue from other parties like the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Zenith Labour Party, ZLP and Allied People’s Movement (APM) and abandon their case.


“They lack merit in their pursuit other than to excite their handful of supporters that the party is alive while in reality the party is gasping for breath. A party in which its members are fighting themselves and decamping by the hour has no place in Edo state. It is wishful thinking for them. "They should be an end to distraction and it is expedient that the PDP and its candidate allows the governor to concentrate on the mandate freely and creditably given to Governor Okpebholo to deliver the dividends of democracy to the Edo people.”


On the 100 days of office of the governor, Idemudia said he was on track, having appraised the rot left by the Godwin Obaseki administration and working to restore confidence in governance.


“Can you not see how serious the governor is with governance? Under 100 days, he suspended senior appointees over alleged corruption. That shows that the Edo treasury is safe with him. Roads are having quick fixes, adequate measures are being taken in other areas such as health, education, state owned media outfits, and so many others,” the national coordinator of the group said.