A former Edo governorship candidate, Patience Ofure-Key, has advised Governor Monday Okpebholo to prioritise immediate governance and the welfare of the state’s citizens over 2027 electioneering.

The 2024 Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) governorship candidate gave the advice in a statement on Thursday in reaction to Mr Okpebholo’s pledge to secure 2.5 million votes for Tinubu in 2027.

Ms Ofure-Key, a former presidential aspirant, said the governor should focus on governance, not on boasting about 2027.

“He should be focusing on security, jobs, roads, schools, hospitals, and the daily welfare of Edo people. He should be asking how to justify the confidence of the people, not how to make political promises on their behalf.

“Okpebholo must focus on serving Edo people. That is the sacred responsibility before him. History will not honour those who merely made noise about votes.

“I call on Governor Okpebholo to focus on service delivery and governance outcomes that improve lives now and respect the sovereignty of voters. Edo citizens vote as free people, not as a bloc owned by any officeholder,” she said.

Ms Ofure-Key, also the president of the Nigerians in Diaspora Chamber of Commerce, said it was undemocratic to promise the vote of the people on their behalf.

“Edo votes are not for sale. Edo votes are not for delivery. Edo people are not political commodities.

“No governor, no party leader, and no political office holder has the right to speak as though the will of the people has already been bought, packaged, or transferred to anyone,’’ she said.

Ms Ofure-Key said the people’s vote belongs to them, not a fixed deposit in any politician’s vault.

She wondered how the governor intends to generate 2.5 million votes, asking what the highest number of votes ever recorded by any governor in Edo was.

The politician recalled that in the 2024 Edo governorship election, Mr Okpebholo was declared the winner with 291,667 votes, while former Governor Godwin Obaseki polled 307,955 votes in 2020 and 319,483 votes in 2016.

“So when anyone promises ‘2.5 million votes’ as if it is a fixed deposit, Edo people are right to ask whether this is political hype or whether it signals an intention to substitute performance with propaganda,” Mr Ofure-Key said.

Ms Ofure-Key urged all Nigerians not to sell their votes in the 2027 general election but to be courageous, speak up for a sustainable future, and refuse intimidation or manipulation.

(NAN)