A rights group, Rising-Up for a United Nigeria (RUN), has counseled the Edo State Governor-Elect, Senator Okpebholo Monday to model his administration after the legendary political careers of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Senate President, Senator Goodwill Akpabio.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Senator and past Executive Governor of Lagos State is widely considered by many as the architect of modern Lagos having laid a solid foundation with a workable blueprint that has been followed by successive administrations.
In the same vein, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the current Senate President and past Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom has also distinguished himself as the father of modern Akwa Ibom having developed its infrastructure to unprecedented heights and opened the state to international investments, tourist and commerce through legacy projects like the Nest of Champions Stadium, Ibom Air and several others.
Speaking on Radio Nigeria on the outcome of the Edo Guber election, the Coordinator of RUN, Ambassador Solomon Adodo, congratulated Senator Okpebholo Monday on his well deserved victory and urged him to tow the line of these true heroes of our democracy and create a new Edo State that will be the envy of other states and the pride of Edo people and Nigerians at large.
“Even as we send our hearty congratulations and the assurances of our highest cooperation, we believe your ascendence to power is a devine work and you’ll deliver exceedingly especially that you’ve won elections under a party that has a well tailored ideology and credible political stalwarts you can learn from.
“It is indeed not a mistake that you’ve won elections at a heavyweights like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Godswill Akpabio and whole lot of national assets are in power. Your synergy and cooperation with them will give your adminstration direction and purpose and we are certain you will not fail to seize this opportunity.
“Edo people have suffered years of bad governance, abuse of power, corruption, insecurity and a host of other challenges. Take a cue from what Tinubu did to Lagos and what Akpabio did to Akwa Ibom and work towards delivering on these challenges so that Edo people will be glad they voted you. You’re next online to become the father of modern Edo State. Congratulations once again “, the statement stated.
RUN also hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a credible, fair and transparent elections in Edo State, adding that Nigerians should rather applaud INEC and desist from blind and unrealistic criticisms.
“INEC has come a long way and we are proud of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and his team. The success of the Edo polls has shown that our electoral process is maturing and very soon, we shall begin to have hitch free elections devoid of human and technological errors. The fact that the Edo polls were transparent and technologically driven has eased the burden of trust that pervaded previous elections.
“However, we are saddened by the antics of desperate politicians and their cohorts who are always working towards discrediting INEC and our electoral process. As patriotic Nigerians, we must reject their plots outrightly and cooperate maximally with the electoral body so that Nigerian votes will always count”, the statement concluded.
RUN is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) with a passion for good governance and policy reforms in Nigeria.