The All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the Edo State governorship election, Mr Monday Okpebholo, was conspicuously absent as leading candidates in the poll presented their manifestoes to political stakeholders, professionals and leaders of Old Boys’ Associations of some schools in the state.
The event, a town hall meeting, organised by a socio-economic group of Edo professionals, Unuedo Renaissance, was held at the Black Diamond Hotel, Ozumba Mbadiwe Way, Lagos State.
The candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Olumide Akpata, and the People’s Democratic Party candidate, Mr Asue Ighodalo, attended the event.
Speaking of his plan, Ighodalo said the state would toe the line of state policing to secure the state more effectively.
Ighodalo stressed that security, like politics, was local, adding that the vigilantes and other local security apparatuses must be empowered to properly secure the local communities.
He noted that the problem with state policing was that it was mostly used by local leaders to their advantage, stressing that that must change.
“There must be a constitutional barrier so that state police are not used to fight political opponents,” he said.
Speaking further, he added, “In Edo, in the last years, kidnapping and other local crimes have decreased. We will work with the police some more. There will be a lot of collaboration and this would make a difference.
“Financing for the police has always been a problem, but we’ll work with the existing systems. If our constitution changes tomorrow, we will equip our state police even more and know how we will be able to help them to achieve their goal”.
Speaking on education, Akpata stated that education was critical to the overall success of the state.
He said, “I have never schooled outside Nigeria and I can assure you that I can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of my peers anywhere in the world. We at the Labour Party are all about mama, papa and pikin.
“I am dissatisfied with the level of education in Edo State. When I took the entrance exam of Kings College, Lagos, as a pupil, I scored 91 per cent to be able to get in. That was the level they held in Edo state. What changed? What are the basic ingredients to make Edo state work?
“In Edo today, we have pupils lying on the bare floor to read and write. This means infrastructure is critical. The teachers are not motivated. Most schools do not even have teachers at all. Teacher recruitment is abysmal.”
Speaking on Education, Ighodalo countering Akpata, stated that the EdoBest Programme by the current administration has improved education in the state.
Both candidates, however, agreed that mission schools should be returned to the original owners of private organisations that have the capacity to handle them.
