An aspirant for the Labour Party for Edo State governorship, Sergius Ogun, has said that he will emerge victorious in the upcoming guber elections as he has supporters and friends in the major political parties in Edo State.
Ogun made this statement in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, where he also said that although he believes in zoning, one should make sure not to sacrifice the most qualified candidate on the altar of zoning.
Ogun, who was a former member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before joining the Labour party, said that he was assured of his victory in the elections as he has won two primaries and two elections, whereas his opponents in the Labour Party have not received any of those achievements as of yet. He then said, “I will win the election- I will win the nominations and I will go ahead to win the election because I have friends across the parties. It’s not so much of who can put money on the table today, we’re not talking about that.
“We are talking about one that can walk across party lines to deliver the votes. One that knows how to defend the votes when the votes are put out there. If you rely on Labour Party alone, you will not win the elections. I can walk across party lines. I have friends and colleagues in the major parties. I have supporters in APC and PDP. So, I am the one that will win the election for Labour Party.”
The former house of representatives member then said that he will fund his campaign by crowdfunding from the people as he said, “Election is not funded by an individual alone, and I do not believe that one you go around begging people, the big boys will start dropping billions, because when they do that, they will come back for their money when you win. So, when we keep blaming leadership in this country, the problem is not leadership. It’s the selection and how they emerge. When you take too much from people, you will pay it back.
“But when get the generality of the people to contribute to your elections, it will become cheap. When you get there from day 1, you will work for the people. That’s how I won my elections going into the national assembly. I didn’t have a godfather, but God in heaven is my father. So, because I wasn’t owing people, I hit the ground running from day 1, and I worked for the people. So, same thing I will do here- people will pay for my form, people have been giving to my campaign, and that is how I’m going to run this election.”
He then gave his opinion on the method of zoning that is being emphasized in the government as he said, “I believe in it (zoning) because that gives the necessary spread, but you will not say you will sacrifice quality on the altar of zoning.”
Ogun then addressed the problem of insecurity that is plaguing Nigeria, saying, “If you take care of the masses, the vulnerable ones, most of the problems plaguing this country today will be taken care of. You don’t have to wait for a Boko Haram to appear or militants to rear their heads before we start talking about amnesty for them.”
He further said, “Under my watch, there will be no kidnappers because if you empower the local councils, all these will disappear. Stop deducting their monies. Local government chairmen are just there, they only go to their office maybe once in a month when the money comes. But tell me, if a local council chairman gets half a billion every month, and we as the government we will support them where they have comparative advantage over other councils, when there are activities, they are awarding contracts, handling procurements, will they be sitting down in Benin or elsewhere? They will be in the council office, supervising and running things from there.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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