The Edo State chapter of the African Action Congress (AAC) flagged off its governorship campaign on Saturday with its flagbearer in the September 21, 2024 election, receiving a large number of members of the Labour Party (LP) who decamped to the AAC.
The defectors, who were drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state, formally defected to the AAC alongside the running mate to Oberaifo, Lord Osunde, who was said to have been a staunch member of the LP and a pioneer Edo Obidient Movement leader.
The AAC governorship running mate, who told newsmen that he had defected to the AAC two months earlier before the official unveiling, was the organiser of the first two million Obidient Movement walks in the state in the buildup to the 2023 general election.
Speaking at the event, the gubernatorial candidate, Oberaifo, said he had decided to make Edo people first on his agenda if elected, hence christening his manifesto ‘Humanity First’, meaning the people (Edo people) first.
“By God’s grace, my leadership, if elected, will stand for true leadership; will stand for a new perspective; will stand for vibrancy.
“My government will stand for innovation, and it will answer all the questions of Edo people, especially the youth, women, and Edo people in general.
“Humanity first at this time means Edo people first. The people before politics; the people before power mongering; the people before godfatherism; the people before profits.
“You must put the people first as a good leader, and you will get it right. That means that when you see people through the eyes of God or the way God sees them, you will definitely get it right. I repeat, humanity first,” he declared.
The governorship candidate, who said the AAC was an alternative to rescue the state and its people from the political, social, and economic quagmire it had found itself, lamented that the state had experienced the era of the PDP and the APC without tangible results.
Speaking on how he intends to develop the state, Oberaifo said that, being a young businessman, he intended to invest hugely in small businesses in the state, adding that that would boost the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) and also reduce unemployment.
“We must empower our small businesses. It is the sure and easiest way the government can raise IGR. An IGR is what we need to develop our state. It is the only way the government can solve the problem of unemployment.
“When you empower MSMEs, they are better; they create jobs. And when they create jobs, the unemployment rate reduces. The people will have more jobs because if I empower you now, I support you by giving you all you need to run your business. In one year, you might employ ten, and in five years, you might employ 20, and the chain continues.”
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