22nd February, 2020
The outgoing Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo, Chief Dan Orbih, said the support and cooperation of chieftains and members of the party have strengthened the party in the state.
At a press briefing on Saturday in Benin, Orbih, whose 12-year tenure would end on March 14, said that this has also led to the resolution of various disputes within the party during his tenure.
He said that he and his team engaged in resolving issues in the state, which attracted lots of people and followership to the party.
He said his priority now was to ensure that the party produce a formidable executive across the state that would wrest power from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
“Every serious politician must be prepared to effect a change in the political landscape and governance of the state. Edo people have suffered from the government of APC, and the way forward is to vote them out.
“APC is yet to solve the problem facing Edo, because they lack solutions to the problems. Because of avoidable internal crisis in the APC, Edo government has not been allowed to settle to serious governance.
“The quarrel between the godfather and his godson has been used to bring vehicle of development to a halt in the state,” Orbih said.
Concerning the suspended congress by the party, Orbih said the issues were being looked into by leaders of the party, while a team has been constituted to meet with aggrieved persons.
“Most important thing right now is to put congress together to bring in a formidable executive on board,” he said.
Orbih called on the APC-led government in the state to resolve the educational challenges facing the Edo University, Iyambo for the benefit of the people.
He urged the government to disclose the status of the institution, vis-à-vis the owners of the institution, partners, contributory percentage of the partners and sharing formula for revenue generated.
He said this is due to ownership of the institution that was supposed to be a public and private partnership project.
Orbih also counselled the state government to prioritise the use of the Edo House in Lagos as a way of boosting its internally generated revenue.
He added that the Edo House could generate huge revenue for the state, if the property is put to good use.