Victor Oshioke, media aide to Edo north senatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, in this interview with JETHRO IBILEKE, says the former Edo state governor’s voice will be the loudest and most articulate voice in the senate

Oshiomhole has been in the executive, he has been in the decision-making rank of the party, but he has not been in the legislative arm. Now, he wants to give them effective representation. Remember that the executive is only implementing what the legislative arm decides. He has seen a lot of areas where better representation will give better dividends of democracy.

There are a lot things that he has seen that he wants to improve upon. He has the knowledge, the experience and the capacity to make a change like nobody has done before for Edo north. He is bringing something to the table, he will add value.

He could have gone there after he lsft office as governor, but he was not interested. Now, it is the people that called upon him to represent them. It is the people of Owan, Akoko-Edo and Etsako that said that it is Oshiomhole that they want.

To start with, PDP has not even agreed on a candidate, they still have two people campaigning for the same seat. The incumbent senator in Edo north was able to win his election because of Comrade Oshiomhole. Secondly, the Labour Party candidate has even been suspended by his party, so he has no record to work on. Oshiomhole has the record, so, we have no reason to have any concern about his winning it. But, it’s an election and for that reason, we are not talking it for granted, we are campaigning vigorously, we are telling the people what he is going to do and we believe that the people will not only vote for Oshiomhole because of his past record, but because of his capacity to do it better than the person there now.

There are rumors that some people from his home front are scheming to go to court over Oshiomhole’s primary school certificate, just to ensure his disqualification from the election. Don’t you think that that’s another plan to betray him by his people, the same way they had him removed as national chairman of the APC?

Well, Jesus Christ was betrayed by his own people, but, the will of the people is stronger than any betrayal. I want it to be on record that there were 26 members of executive in his ward,17 of them signed saying that they were not part of any attempt to remove Oshiomhole, they deposed to an affidavit, so those saying that his people removed him, they should always remember that those who wanted him out only found it convenient to use that minority decision, people who were coerced, locked up in government house in Benin City and forced to say that Oshiomhole has been suspended in his ward. Remember, out of the 26, 17 denied having hands in his suspension, meaning that only nine people did that thing and they did it in the government house in Benin City. The affidavits of the 17 exco members who decline are still in existence, they did it at home, they did it at Abuja that they were not part of the arrangement.

You know, in a government magic in Edo state where you have 14 elected members of the house of assembly were not sworn-in, thereby making it 14 constituencies unrepresented in Edo state house of assembly for four good years. It did not happen in the first or second republics, in fact, it did not happen in military regeme that people elected are denied their representation. When the history of Edo state is told, that thing will be there and hod Oshiomhole was removed with a minority will also be told. These things are not normal situations, they were contraptions by the Lord of Osadebe Avenue.

For him, it is the same thing, he will be going with Asiwaju wherever he is going, but, whenever he has a rally in Edo, he will come and talk about Asiwaju and himself. That is why we form one campaign council for both the presidential and senatorial elections in Edo North, so that wherever we are going, we are campaigning for Oshiomhole, we are campaigning for Asiwaju.

For Oshiomhole he has his record on ground, his performance as governor is on ground. In Edo north, he is not new to them, he is someone they know very well, so whenever he comes around, it’s like a carnival.

By and large, it’s even better because he has a lot of people campaigning for Asiwaju in Edo. So, it’s one campaign really.

My word for our people is that, they know Oshiomhole, they know who he is, he is not a new perto them. Edo state will wish that they have Oshiomhole again. As for Edo north, many people have said it that where Oshiomhole stopped the development of Edo north is where it is today. Since he left office in 2016, there has not been any development in Edo north. So, the possibility of him coming back makes everybody happy. I call on them to know that Oshiomhole is not going to the senate to sit down, the voice of Edo north will bevthe loudest voice in the senate, Oshiomhole’s voice will be the loudest and most articulate voice in the senate.