Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State led thousands of APC faithful on a 10-km road show round major streets of Benin City, Monday, to celebrate victory of the All Progressives Congress in the House of Assembly elections held in the state, last Saturday.
The “Thank You” road show which commenced from Ramat Park on Auchi-Abuja road took the Governor and the party faithful through Ikpoba slope to Ewah Street, through Gani Fawehimi layout, to Guobadia Street down to New Lagos Road to New Benin through Mission Road to and ended at the Oba Ovoramwem Square, in the heart of the state capital.
Addressing the mammoth crowd and party faithful who danced all through the road show singing melodious victory songs, at the Oba Ovoramwen Square, Oshiomhole said, last Saturday’s victory of the APC was the final nail on political coffin of expired godfathers in the state.
He said: “everybody here, all Edo men and women have again spoken, you have reaffirmed your confidence and trust in my stewardship. You have renewed the vigor, your commitment to change and last Saturday, you completed the first chapter in this journey.
“You know I told you some few years back, we terminated godfatherism when we voted again and again to bury the godfather but as we bury them, Abuja puts them on oxygen mask. They have been on oxygen for so many years. I told my friend and brother, President Goodluck Jonathan, why are you putting these godfathers on oxygen?
Oshiomhole added, “You remember the President came to Edo and said Edo will fall in 2015 and 2016. I said in the name of God our creator, He will not abandon us and I said Jonathan will fall, has he not fallen? And I said the godfather will fall, has he not also fallen? Where are they today? From Edo Central to Edo South, all the godfathers have finally perished.
“We now have a completely new energetic, imaginative, rugged and dogged political leadership. I am proud of Edo people and I want to thank you so very much for being there for me and I promise that I will be there for all of you. I will give my all for the Edo people because if you imagine plans of the enemies, while we were campaigning for change for progress and development, they were plotting to use acid to bath my political life.
“They did advertorials, they did all kind of abusive campaigns but God said the devil is a liar. Today, like I told you at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, people like us conquered fear many years ago. We will stand on our feet and fight on the basis of our convictions. We will not go down on our knees to beg those who themselves are living on the quick sand of time.”
He said, “I am very happy for the referendum that took place on Saturday. The election of Saturday was a referendum between the godfathers and the great people of this great state. We know who the godfathers are. Of course, one or two escaped the first day but by Saturday we finished them.
“I salute the fighting spirit of our people in Esanland. We took the fight to the doorstep of the godfather and his young godson, we dealt with them and have now formally restricted them to Uromi. We caged him from Ubiaja, then we nailed him from Irrua and finished him at Igueben, so it is complete. I thank God that at the end, God used me to nail their political coffin and thank you for being part of it”, he said.
“To the Edo woman, we will do our best to support your commercial life and we will do for you much more than we have done before. To our youths, this struggle was about you. You have all come out in huge number, you bore the risk, you sweated, you did not sleep and by the grace of God, we are now in a position to reposition you and to empower you”.
Continuing, Oshiomhole maintained, “To our elders, we will revisit some of those programs that are specifically targeted at our elders because the elders have prayed, they have had sleepless nights praying against the devil and as you can see, God answered the prayers.
“To all the great people of Edo State, to the great Oba of Benin Kingdom, to all the members of the Royal family, to all the Enigies of Benin Kingdom, to all the Chiefs, to all the Leaders of thoughts, the Benin Forum, the Benin Leaders of Thought, the great Benin Women, the Odionweres, to everybody, I cannot thank you enough. God will bless your children as a reward for your sacrifice.”
