‘You don’t need to campaign here’ — monarch endorses Obaseki

Sylvanus Ikhumhen, traditional ruler of Ewatto kingdom, in Esan south east local government area of Edo, has reassured Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state, of the support of the Esan people in the forthcoming election.

Ikhumhen, who described the governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 19 poll, as the messiah that Edo people have been waiting for, said Obaseki’s reelection will ensure continuity of good governance in the state.

Receiving the governor, Philip Shaibu, his deputy, Frank Okiye, speaker of the assembly, and other members of the Edo PDP campaign council at his palace, the monarch commended Obaseki for extending his administration’s developmental projects to the community.

“You don’t need to come here and campaign because we have seen your good works across the state and we are impressed. Your government doesn’t discriminate; you appointed our sons into your cabinet and we are grateful to you,” he said.

“You are the messiah that Edo people have been waiting for. We never knew that our state government can extend development to my locality.”

The monarch also applied a native chalk on the governor’s palm and that of his deputy as a sign of blessing.

On his part, Obaseki said his administration is committed to the uplift of Edo people, promising to scale up the level of development in Ewatto community if he gets reelected.

“I am committed to the development of Edo people. I know you (the Onojie) are also committed to your people. My major concern is to extend development to all parts of our state,” he said.

“I will always deal with any issue affecting your kingdom with all seriousness. I understand the issue of water in Ewatto; I will work on the water system in Ewohimi to enable it supply water to this region.

“I want to tell you that the delay in the road construction work in Ewatto was due to the redesigning of the water drainage and also the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as many of our contractors had to travel back to their respective countries.”