A former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and two governors of the party, Chief Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, on Saturday urged the people of Edo State to defend their votes in the July 14, 2012 gubernatorial election in Edo State.
Addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters at the Uwelu Spare Parts Market in Benin City, the ACN leader and state governors, who joined Governor Adams Oshiomhole on a campaign tour of Benin City, said the electorate should be watchful and not allow the opposition party carry out any rigging plot in the election.
According to Tinubu: “We will fight to defend our mandate for the progressive liberation of Edo people. We have come to remind you of your responsibility because you are a marching Army of freedom.
“They have been holding meetings on how to rig the elections and they are planning to use youth corp members who have already passed out. It is your responsibility to ask for the proper identification of the National Youth Service Corp deployed for the election. The worst and dangerous day of the election is at the polling booth where you must be vigilant. From there, you must follow the results to the collation centre and the more you congregate at the collation centre the more you put pressure on them not to rig.”
In the words of Amosun: “Let us get involved for the good works of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to continue. When we entered Benin City we saw the roads, street lights and the people are happy.”
While commending the vision and integrity of Oshiomhole, Fayemi, who maintained that vigilance remains the prize if the people must enjoy what they have enjoyed in the past three years, disclosed that the Action Congress of Nigeria manufactured the concept of rig and roast when the opposition political party attempted to rig the elections in Ekiti State.
For former Special Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Policy and Strategy, who decamped to the ACN at the rally, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, said he decided to pitch tent with the ACN to be part of the historic development of Edo State.
Ihonvbere said the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State represents “oppression, intimidation, repression and decay.”
Oshiomhole commended the people who responded in matters of minutes in the ward rally and assured them that the people of Uwelu who have been confronted with the problem of flooding, which previous government said nothing could be done about it, will be completed.
“We are not promising, we already working on the dredging the 14 kilometre primary drains. We are dealing with the problem of flooding,” he noted.