Senator Professor Oserheimen Osunbor formally picked up the Edo gubernatorial nomination forms on Thursday, vowing to reposition the heartbeat of the nation to greater glory if elected governor.
Senator Osunbor arrived at the APC Secretariat at about 12.01 p.m. along with his beautiful wife, Lady Ussieh, and his large entourage, signifying his wide acceptance across Edo State.
The professor of law and two-term Senator of the Federal Republic, while briefing the press on his mission to the APC Secretariat, said:
“For many of us, this coming election is a must-win for Edo APC, no impediment, no matter how contrived, and from whatever source can stop our great party APC from reclaiming in 2024. The mistakes that APC made caused APC to lose to PDP in 2020.
Before picking up the nomination forms on Thursday, Osunbor had consulted critical stakeholders across Edo State, and the consensus is that he remains the most qualified to wrestle power from the PDP.
Recall that Osunbor had a short stint in Edo Government House between 2007 and 2008 before his election was truncated by the Appeal Court.
As governor, Osunbor embarked on massive construction, refurbishment, and reconstruction works across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He did not stop there; he looked at the transport sector and decided to pump life into the then-moribund Edo state transport service by providing more than 32 brand-new coastal buses.
He equally extended this laudable gesture to Edo Line, another government-owned outfit. Barely two weeks after that, he bought tractors for all the farm settlements in the state to further boost agriculture in the state.
Osunbor, being the son of a teacher and a parliamentarian in the First Republic, knows where it pinches. He, too, as a teacher, the professor of law, never owed teachers for those 18 months he worked as the chief servant of the Edo people. He did not stop at that, as he made sure pensioners were not owed a dime in those months he sat on the saddle.
Pensions for teachers
The records are there for all Edolites to check, as there was no time when teachers and pensioners queued to collect their legitimate stipends. Security took on a new shape, and it is on record that for the first time in 15 years, not even a gunshot was heard in Benin City during the 2007 Christmas period. Kidnappers and armed robbers relocated from Edo.
What the professor of law simply did then was arm the Nigerian Police to the hilt, and the police surprised Edo people by displaying the arms and armoured vehicles around the city of Benin, saying that they were ready for anything in 2007. Osunbor saw the roads when he emerged, and he wept, vowing to touch all parts of the state. In 18 months, he renovated, refurbished, and constructed 32 roads across the heartbeat of the nation.
Within those 18 months, the short-lived Osunbor administration left behind indelible marks that cannot easily be erased from the minds of Edolites.
Edolites now have a second chance to nominate Osunbor to complete his task designed to take Edo to greater glory.
If the APC can make Osunbor its flag bearer, the real election will be a walkover, as Osunbor is a household name and a marketable brand in Edo State.