A chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) in Edo State, Stephen Osemwegie, said stated that the candidate of the party in the last presidential election, Peter Obi, will reclaim his mandate.
OsunDailyNG reports that Obi is challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25th presidential election.
The former governor of Anambra State had approached the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to reclaim his allegedly stolen mandate. However, the tribunal, last week, struck out Obi and Labour Party’s various petitions and upheld Tinubu’s victory as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking, however, on the controversial judgement by the Tribunal, Osemwegie, said the legal tussle between Obi and Tinubu is not over.
The governorship aspirant, under the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in the Edo 2024 election said though the judgement of the tribunal had dashed the hope of Nigerians, the verdict did not reflect the position of the constitution of the country.
“I’m dismayed by the PEPT’s judgment as it amounts to a total abdication of power to the executive arm of government in a manner indicative of state capture, and does not reflect the independence of the judiciary as envisaged by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is a slap on us as a nation that prides itself as the “Giant of Africa”.
“This aberration should be strongly condemned in its entirety. I believe it is an attempt to legitimize the imposed presidency of Bola Tinubu; dash the hope of the ordinary and long-suffering Nigerians for a new nation anchored on the principles of justice, equity and fairness; and grossly undermine the moral and ethical standards of the larger society,” Vanguard quoted the governorship aspirant as saying in a publication on Wednesday.
Speaking, however, on his aspiration, Osemwegie, promised to make Edo an industrial hub of Nigeria when elected next year. The politician, while speaking on sources of funding for his proposed initiatives for the State, drew a comparison between Edo and New Jersey, OsunDailyNG understands.
He said: “Edo approximately covers an area of 19,000 sq km, same as New Jersey USA. Edo population is approximately 4.5 million, while New Jersey is approximately 9 million people (double the population of Edo State). The current annual budget of Edo is 360 billion naira (approximately 0.4 billion US dollars) while New Jersey’s annual budget is at a whopping 54 billion US dollars.”
“There is no money to develop and industrialise Edo based on its paltry resources, therefore new funding must come from the diaspora in the form of investment bonds which will be sold to Edo indigenes in Diaspora”.
