The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Umar Ganduje, inaugurated the party’s national campaign council for the 2024 governorship election in Edo on Saturday.

Inaugurating the council headed by Governor Bassey Ottu of Cross River, Mr Ganduje charged the members to ensure the party reclaimed the state from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the September 21 off-cycle election.

The national chairman, who was excited about the official defection of the state deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, to the APC, said the party had secured up to 50 per cent of the people in the state’s government.

He urged the campaign council to swing into action to ensure that all members at the local government areas and unit levels come out to campaign and vote.

“A flag-off rally will soon be organised so that President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will be in Benin City,” he said.

The former governor of Kano State said that if the state were not connected to the centre, it would not experience full political participation and dividends of democracy.

He said the only way to achieve this is by voting for Monday Okpebholo and his running mate, Dennis Idahosa, who are flying the party’s flag in the election.

The APC candidate castigated Governor Godwin Obaseki for raising the state debt profile from about ₦43 billion when he took over in 2016 to over ₦500 billion.

“We are bringing practical governance into the state,” he said.

The state chairman of APC, Jarret Tenebe, urged the party’s national chairman to join them to rescue the state from the grip of the PDP.

Earlier, the senator representing Edo North and former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, said Mr Okpebholo, if elected, had a huge task ahead of him as governor of Edo.

He urged the people of the state to compare the years of the rule of the APC and the PDP in the state and see the difference.

(NAN)