Edo 2024: Group Wants Osunbor to Declare for Guber Race

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Ahead of the governorship election billed for next year in Edo State, various political and interest groups have started to mount pressure on Prof. Oserhiemen Osunbor to join the governorship race.

Recall that Osunbor’s tenure as governor was truncated on November 11, 2008, by an Appeal Court judgment that upheld the earlier decision of an election tribunal that declared Mr. Adams Oshiomhole the winner of the 2007 governorship election.

However, a pressure group known as Better Edo Forum (BBF), at the weekend,  has called on Osunbor to publicly declared to contest for the 2024 governorship race to succeed the PDP led administration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

The group, in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin City, and signed by its State Coordinator and Secretary, Mr. Odion James and Mr. Osaro Idemudia, respectively, said that the professor of Law short spell as governor of witnessed massive development across the state.

The statement noted that the 18 months Osunbor governed, saw massive roads construction, school rehabilitations and several other projects that were aimed at transforming the sorry state of things as at the time he took over the reign of governance in Edo State.

The group also pointed out that the rule of law became the order of the day within the 18 months period that Osunbor held sway as the governor.

According to the statement, “Osunbor can best be described as a workaholic who did everything humanly possible to change the fortune of our dear State from the very sorry state he met a badly govern state.”

The group, said that the 2024 governorship election offered yet another opportunity for the loyal, dedicated APC leader and former governor to deliver on his plans for people of the state.

“We saw him embarked on unprecedented massive roads construction across the three senatorial districts. Some of these roads exist as we speak.

“He also embarked on other projects that catalyse the state from it state of economy doldrums to that of prosperity the state has started to witness before the court judgment that halted that development strides.

“It is as a result of this that we, along with millions of Edolites, are calling on him, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, to declare interest to contest the 2024 governorship seat.

“As a group, we will support him in whatever capacity by mobilising human and material resources to see that this dream comes to fruition.

“We know what he Osunbor is capable and that is why we call him “Mr. Capacity”, as he is fondly called to come and reenact the work he started and what Oshiomhole built on before the present administration took the state to the dark days.”

As a way forward, the group appealed to the APC’s leadership to adopt Osunbor as their consensus candidate to fly the party’s flag having shown and demonstrated strong capacity to change the fortune of the state when he held sway.