Reprieve came to the ways of the 14 All Progressive Congress (APC), members-elect of the Edo State House of Assembly, who were not inaugurated on June 17, 2019, when Governor Godwin Obaseki issued the inauguration proclamation, as the party announced automatic tickets for them for the 2023 general elections.
The Edo APC however, announced that anyone among the 14 assembly members-elect, who chose to seek for another elective position other than the state house of assembly would have to go through the primaries of the party to select its candidates for the coming general elections.
APC Edo State Secretary, Mr Lawrence Okah, made the pronouncement in Benin on Tuesday at the official declaration of interest by Osaro Obazee, a former Chairman of Oredo Local Government Area, to vie for the party’s ticket to contest for the House of Representatives into the Oredo Federal Constituency.
According to Okah, “The fourteen lawmakers from our party have the right of first refusal because of the way they were treated by the government of Godwin Obaseki, that is what we have said because despite all they have passed through, they have remained with the APC
“Osaro Obazee has done well, he has been the mayor of the city, he has done very well and this is for people to learn that patriotism is very important, we know what he did when he was chairman of Oredo Local Government Area”.
Speaking at his declaration, Obazee said he decided to contest for the Oredo Federal Constituency slot to give the people an improved representation than what they had.
The former Oredo Chairman and the current chairman of APC in Tue council area stressed that his antecedent, coupled with the alleged disenchantment of the people about the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, put him in good stead to win the election if he got the ticket nod of Tue APC to be its standard-bearer in the Oredo Federal Constituency.
“I am a consultant in political affairs in my local government, I am not trying to praise myself but I am coming from the grassroots and I have done my sampling so I am not afraid that if I get the ticket of the party I will be contesting a ruling government because even within them, we have done sampling of opinion and they have said severally that they are dissatisfied with the leadership of their party in government today.
“So what that means is that it creates an opportunity for people like us that are contesting to reach out to them and we have done a very serious homework and we believe the election will be won. My antecedents were there when I was a local government chairman,” Obazee enthused.