₦airaland Forum

lukkie: I thought Glo said we'd pay less for internet access due to the Main One cable. Hmn, story don change now.

Jarus: No big deal. All these fights are not taken personal.
Recently, in an event 3 of them were present, Obj, in his comical self, called out Buhari and IBB and hugged them.

By Ben Agande
Abuja — Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, yesterday, defended his condemnation of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, during last Saturday’s election in the state, saying he needed to raise alarm in order to thwart the efforts of those who were determined to rig the election.

Speaking with State House correspondents when he visited President Goodluck Jonathan, Gov. Oshiomhole commended the president for ensuring that the votes of the electorate counted, by deploying enough security personnel in the state to maintain law and order.


Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State addressing journalists at Iyamho Primary School.
According to Oshiomhole, “the President warned that there will be no rigging, no manipulation, no ballot snatching and orders were given to the army to ensure that none of those things happened and the army carried out the order.

“The Police IG was similarly instructed, he deployed his men probably much more than we probably needed and they delivered on the President’s orders. The SSS were fantastic because they were always at the collating centres where some of the manipulations could take place. I have been a victim and so you would understand why I am familiar with it. And the SSS did a fanastic job, two plus two was four not five, not 15 and that made a lot of difference. So we need to appreciate the President and encourage him to sustain this principle of truly reminding all of us who hold political office.”

On allegation against INEC

Speaking on his allegation against INEC, Oshiomhole who waxed philosophical pointed out that “ in my own part of the world the fact that you got home safely does not mean you should not investigate an accident scene. We had several meetings, I informed INEC in a petition about two months ago that my opponents in their strategic meeting sent out their men and they reported back that it would be impossible for them to win. But then, their leader insisted they must win and that this is his last time. They then agreed on a number of issues.

“One of them was that my support base in Benin City is very strong and incidentally, Edo South accounts for 55 per cent of the total registered voters. And so they agreed that they were going to work with some people in the INEC on election day to delay supply of materials.

“So, when you supply materials late, two things will happen: the number of persons who had queued up since 8 o’clock to wait for five hours will grumble if materials don’t come, the average person will say, well I have done my best, if the material has not come I have to go home.

“Don’t forget there are no eateries around the area and so people would have been compelled to fast. So the immediate implication of that is that you will find so many people would not able to vote.

“Number two, when you then push the elections into the dark hours in a country where you are not sure of power supply, when it is dark, it becomes easy for election manipulators to change numbers. So these I conveyed to Prof. Attahiru Jega and we raised it in the various stakeholders meeting that we had with him.

“I mean the reason Nigeria is not making progress is that we are afraid to tell the truth. It is not a big deal to be a governor but it is a big deal to tell the truth and to harass anyone who is responsible for dragging Nigeria backward.”



Promises to carry all along

Oshiomhole promised to carry every Edo indigene along not minding their political affiliation, adding: “But you see I made this point yesterday (Sunday), even when I was rigged out in 2009 I did try to work with everybody. If you remember, I appointed three commissioners from the PDP in my first term because I was anxious to make the point that, yes as a trade unionist my business was to voice and to speak through to power and even to harass power if I thought it was being misused. I have done that all my life. So not a few were curious as to how I will now manage.

“I was always conscious of that and to avoid continued protest and diversions inside I want to carry everybody along and I demonstrated that by asking them give me three PDP commissioners. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and everybody has to go his way.

“I’m humbled by the fact that across the state, this is the first time in our history probably the only place this has happened, that a governor won election in every local government. This, for me, entails a huge responsibility when the people speak with one voice and say we prefer you, you have a duty to service that trust.”

“Like I told many of them, you did not vote for me the last time yet I built this beautiful school, I constructed this beautiful road, I built the beautiful health center then imagin when you vote for me, I can only do more. And you know I am conscious that people like you are interested in what is happening in a Edo State. I am not like other governors whose constituency is limited largely to the boundaries of their state.

I’m conscious of the fact that though I’m a governor in Edo State but the average Nigerian is keen to see what is Oshimhole is doing now, now that he is a governor. And that explains why I can’t afford to relax even when others do. And I’m so grateful to God that He has blessed everything that we have asked for” he said.
https://vml1.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Oshiomhole-A.jpg?9d7bd4

diluminati: Oshiomole dancing with Oba's Chiefs.

https://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/558352_10150927123951078_1488799737_n.jpg

Benin has never been united like this.

Eko Ile: Papab. You ignorance and lack of civic education is mind boggling and shameful.

1. It's a fact to many elementary school kids that lagos us not the capital I'd Nigeria and abuja is.

2. Its a fact to many elementary school kids that despite what lagos contributes to the national economy, its the 3rd largest recipient of allocations after rivers with 20 billion and 4 million people and Akwa with 17 billion and 5 million people. This is another ignorance on your part.

3. It's a fact that rivers states budget with just 4 million people is almost the same as lagos and in fact its sometimes higher than lagos with 20 million people and lagos still get more done than rivers and Akwa put together. By population and budget rivers is 4 times richer than lagos.

How do I even discuss anything with no basic knowledge people like you?


Now, let me excuse your ignorance and go back to you blindly equating a state like lagos with a country like Angola and its huge national resources.

You need to bury your head in shame.

Eko Ile: And you honestly bought that and took off running with your Angola comparison9 is Lagos a country? Are you in primary 2 or you were just too lazy to spot the difference?

Secondly, your luanda comparison was ignorant simply because luanda is a country capital where the country of Angola spends its money to develop while lagos is not the capital of Nigeria and the government of Nigeria is spending its money on abuja which is the capital of Nigeria.

You are fee to create and enjoy your comedy show, but let it make a little sense.

Eko Ile: These NL illeterates sha. Mention lagos and see them rush out to put down their own country for another country.

Do we now have to tell these ignorant people that Angola is a country with 100 billion oil money to burn while lagos is just a state within Nigeria with just 2 billion.


Shouldn't you olodo people be comparing with abuja which is a country capital like luanda instead of lagos?

If lagos is making so much moves with 2 billion imagine What we fit do with 100 billion.

I just wonder why you people don't weep and cry over your backward stone age villages.

tos4u: Fellow nairalander, wat do u feel about Nigeria bcomin d greatest cassava producer in d world. When other good commodities are there, it just a big disgrace and our Presidnt and his cohorts are jubilating about it, my God! Cassava of all foods i tire for dis nation,

elliot777: Can anyone verify if etihad airways would be operating any services from manchester straight to lagos as that would only make sense since their club manchester city is based in here manchester and there are loads of nigerians in manchester who are tired of travelling via amsterdam or france before reconnecting a flight to lagos or even going all the way to london just to get a direct flight.

yohanna zack: It wl be a waste of resources if d issue of insecurity is not addressd. U think white pple are fools to invest in a place where d lives of their nationals wl be in danger or their investment wl be threatened? Wake up my brodas. Let him bring corruption and insecurity to their knees, every oda tin wl pop up naturally.