Edo guber: Osaron Onaiwu joins race, picks PDP expression of interest form

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The pioneer Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors’ Forum, Mr Osaron Onaiwu has joined the race for the Edo State Governorship election coming up later this year.

Onaiwu picked the PDP’s expression of interest form on Monday at its headquarters in Abuja.

The erstwhile D-G of the PDP Governors’ Forum, who obtained the form, through his spokesperson, Zeiyanu Ubandoria and another aide, Adekunle Adebanjo, vowed to set a standard that has not been set before if he gets the PDP governorship ticket and eventually gets elected as the Governor of Edo State.

Onaiwu, while speaking through Zeiyanu Ubandoria at a media parley, said, “we want to set a standard, the standard that has not been set by anybody in the governance of Edo State”.

Continuing, he said, “One of the main challenges People’s Democratic Party has been having is lack of true reward to loyal party people.

“As far as Edo is concerned, Osaro has spent the last 25 years of his life working so hard to make PDP a viable platform.

“It is because of that that as at 2020, when there was a fallout in the other party in Edo states, PDP was the most available party and most viable party to rescue the then candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, the present governor.

“So it is why we are here. We’ve put ourselves together to come and obtain this form and we want to appeal to the leadership of the party that as far as PDP is concerned, contest into any elective position should be for core party men as a form of support for people who have been into the political party originally”.

He argued that contest into any elective position should “be based on competency. It shouldn’t be on the basis of where you come from or anything other than competency.”

According to him, “Competence and equity are the bedrock of Peoples Democratic Party. And that was why when there was fallout in APC in the last election, the governor, midstream, had no way. And the PDP became a viable platform for him to win this election and to the glory of God he was returned elected”.

Onaiwu, his spokesperson said, “Is a better person in this state, somebody that understands the people, somebody that has been working with the people and the party itself. He is not somebody that is coming from outside just knowing that there’s a vacancy somewhere”.