OJIEVA EHIOSUN 
Hon. Louis Imhandegbelo is a chieftain of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State. He is a former Senior Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on political matters, and the Chairman of Esan South East Local Government Area. He is one of the point men of Asue Ighodalo, the governorship candidate of the PDP in the September 21 governorship election. In this exclusive interview with OJIEVA EHIOSUN, Imhandegbelo spoke on the election and other issues. Excerpts:
The September 2024 election is fast approaching, what do you think are the chances of the PDP?
Edo State, as you know, is a PDP state. Millions of Edo electorates can no longer be deceived by the All Progressives Congress (APC). They have tested both parties at the state and national levels, you don’t need a Prophet Elijah to tell you about the two major political parties and their administrative systems in Nigeria. From 2010 to 2015, a bag of foreign rice was sold for eight thousand naira (N8,000.00), but today how much is it going for, even a lay man on the streets will tell you that Nigerians are suffering and smiling under a government that has no human feelings for its citizens. Go to the streets, people are dying on a daily basis because of hardship. Prices of goods are on the increase, people can no longer feed two times a day. Students are dropping out of schools, parents are doing all manners of odds jobs to survive, and somebody will open his eyes to vote an APC governorship candidate that is insensitive to the plight of the people. Take it or leave it, Edo people will elect Asue Ighodalo as a successor to Governor Godwin Obaseki. As a local government chairman, I devote half of my official hours to attending to the less-privileged in my constituency. Governor Obaseki’s primary assignment is to the people. We are in office to cater for the masses, we are committed to de- livering the dividends of democracy to our people. We have the masses at heart, the PDP operates an open door policy and Edo people are in love with the good works of Governor Obaseki. Hence, they have all decided to queue behind Asue Ighodalo in the election. No doubt, the PDP will have an overwhelming victory.
The APC called for the cancellation of the just-concluded Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), how would you react to this?
That call for the cancellation of the CVR by the APC is ridiculous, misleading, and irresponsible. If they are democrats, they won’t come up with such statement. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a pure democrat, he knows what democracy is all about. He came into office through the power of the ballot. Demanding for the cancellation of the CVR done by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that ended on June 9, 2024, was actually undemocratic. I expected them to get involved in constructive and positive campaigns that will convince the elec- torates. Their campaigns should be issue based, and they should focus on talks that will better the lives of the suffering masses. They are invariably telling Edo people that they have nothing to offer. The time of using the tax payers’ money to service godfathers is over in Edo politics. The peoples’ money is meant to be used for the people. That is exactly what Governor Obaseki stands for and the people of Edo are happy with him. The spurious and insensitive statement is not just another failed attempt by the APC to subvert the democratic process, but a slap on the faces of all eligible voters in Edo State. Instead of the APC empathising with the electoral umpire for the damage done to its office as a result of the torrential rain, they are going around with arrogant statements, grandstanding, and demanding the cancellation of an exercise that is meant to allow the registration of unregistered voters over baseless claims of compromised INEC officials and biased ad hoc staff.
The 2024 guber election in Edo State is between two people from Esan, how do you see the two candidates?
I’m a political leader in the PDP; whether they are two brothers or not, as a loyal party man, I owe my party an obligation. I rose to the position of a local government chairman under the platform of the PDP. It is therefore compulsory for me to work for our great party. We have a candidate with an intimidating CV, a man that has seen it all in all spheres of life. A candidate that is marketable anytime, any day, an eloquent person that has been tested and trusted in all areas of human endeavour. Edo voters know that the government house is not for rookies, it is for people with integrity, maturity, and credibility. Asue Ighodalo has the necessary pedigree to take Edo State to greater heights.
Do you envisage any rigging in the election?
We have gone past that level in the Nigerian electoral system. There will neither be rigging nor writing of results. Edo people are not unaware of some of the rigging strategies of the past and they will come out in their numbers to vote for the PDP and its candidate. We will stay at the various polling units to defend their votes just as they did during the 2020 governorship election, which secured the second term victory for Governor Obaseki.
The PDP is seriously campaigning for its candidate, will you say that your campaign is producing positive results?
We are redirecting and dissipating our energies to mobilising Edo voters and party supporters to come out en masse and vote our candidate; Asue Ighodalo. Nobody can deceive our electorates, Edo people know who their candidate is, they know the person that can take them to the peak of development. We are committed to upholding the principles of democracy and ensuring that every eligible person in the state has the opportunity to register and ex- ercise his or her franchise. We will reject any attempt to undermine the electoral process and we will continue to work closely with INEC and other stakeholders to facilitate a transparent and credible election. We are confident that Edo people know the qualities, pedigree and credentials expected of their state governor, and who is a fit and proper person to govern them. They will decide with their votes on September 21, 2024. Unintelligent lies and propaganda is not a campaign strategy and this won’t guarantee them a seat in the government house.
As an Esan man, what is the general feeling about Esan people towards this election, particularly in Esan South East Local Government Area?
We are ready, our people are fully with Asue Ighodalo. There is no discrimination, Esan people are predominantly PDP. The political legacies of the late Chief Tony Anenih cannot be easily wiped out in Edo State. The PDP is our party, we are totally committed to ensuring that our party wins the forthcoming gu ber election.
How will you rate Governor Obaseki in the last eight years?
In fact, Governor Godwin Obaseki is a blessing to Edo State. Edo State has become a reference point for other governors in Nigeria in terms of infrastructural development. Edo State civil service is one of the best in Nigeria. Other states are coming to take a queue from Edo State. Obaseki’s democratic achievements are enough to earn Asue Ighodalo the governorship seat even without campaign. On security, Governor Obaseki, has fought insecurity in Edo State to a standstill.
There are various security networks set up by the governor to battle insecurity in the state, and ‘am happy to say that they are yielding positive results. Edo people will not be foolish enough to elect a political party that has no human face. We will not get ourselves into character assignation campaign, rather, we will dwell on objective and life changing campaign programmes. The PDP will have an overwhelming victory on September 21 in the gubernatorial election.
