Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to taking governance to the grassroots while strengthening the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the state.
Okpebholo stated this on Monday at the Government House, Benin City, during a meeting with APC leaders and members drawn from the 18 local government areas of Edo State.
The governor thanked party members for their support and called for greater unity within the APC, stressing that the party’s strength remained dependent on collective commitment.
“I want to say good morning to everybody and tell you that I love you all. I want to let you know that the party is our party. We don’t have any other party than APC,” Okpebholo said.
He said his administration was determined to ensure that government programmes, development and opportunities reached the grassroots, particularly at the ward level.
“So we are taking the governance to the grassroots, so that whatever is from the top, will also go down to the bottom,” the governor said.
On the planned appointment of Special Assistants, Okpebholo said the appointment of 4,000 SAs was not an issue, noting that the APC’s electoral victory was a collective achievement.
“Appointing 4,000 SAs is not an issue at all because we all work for this victory. The victory does not belong to Okpebholo alone,” he said, while expressing appreciation to party members for their contributions.
Earlier, APC State Chairman, Jarret Tenebe, commended the governor for what he described as efforts to reposition and strengthen the party since assuming office.
Tenebe said the APC had become more active and stable under Okpebholo, adding that the administration had created opportunities for party members to participate in governance and benefit from the dividends of democracy.
He also disclosed that the governor had approved the appointment of 25 Special Assistants in each of the 192 wards across the state.
According to Tenebe, the meeting was convened to brief ward chairmen and other party stakeholders on the criteria and guidelines for selecting beneficiaries of the appointments.
“In his magnanimity, the governor has decided to appoint 25 SAs in each of the wards in 192 wards across the state. And that is the reason why we decided to invite ward chairmen and members to this meeting so we can tell you the criteria to select these people that will benefit from this appointment,” he said.
The APC chairman said the State Working Committee had constituted a committee to interface with the various wards and ensure compliance with the stipulated guidelines in the selection process.
He added that the committee would compile the names of qualified nominees and communicate them to the party headquarters in Benin City.
Tenebe further praised the administration for supporting the party’s candidates during the local government elections, claiming that the APC was able to back councillorship and chairmanship candidates without requiring them to personally finance their campaigns.
He also claimed that the APC recorded 2,158,600 votes across Edo North, Edo Central and Edo South, describing the figure as evidence of the party’s growing strength and grassroots presence.
The meeting, according to the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Patrick Akhere Ebojele, was attended by members of the APC State Working Committee, Deputy Governor Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Chief of Staff to the Governor, as well as ward and local government representatives.
The engagement is expected to further strengthen coordination between the Edo State Government and the APC structure at the ward and local government levels as the administration pursues its grassroots governance and mobilisation agenda.
