New Telegraph 
Comrade Osamede Igbineweka is the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Edo State. He gave reasons Edo electorate should shun PDP and APC. Excerpts:
Your party is new in Edo. How do you intend to win the September 19 election?
The APM is not a new political party, we are fully registered with INEC, and we have the political structure on ground to win any election. In Edo State, we have majority of the youth, market women, bus drivers, students and the general electorate with us. We know those who have PVCs, so since the old politicians have refused to vacate the scene, we are going to use our PVCs to push them away. Moreso, if you look at what is going on in the political arena in Edo State, and how they are fighting to take over the seat, what it means is that they are not fighting for the interest of the masses, they are after their own and their immediate family. Some of the big politicians in the state have refused to let go, they want to be in charge as if it is their father’s property.
What is your take on the political battle between Governor Godwin Obaseki and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole?
No reasonable human being will allow crisis in his home, and no man would fold his hands to watch power taken away from him. It is the greedy nature of our politicians that has led us to the level we are now. I like what Obaseki and Shaibu are doing, I like the way they are fighting Oshiomhole. But for me as APM candidate, I have decided to come out and join the race to form a new government in Edo State, because if we do not address them and change the the political rascality in the system now, it is going to tell on us and our youths will continue to be used and dumped by these greedy politicians. So, I want to call on our youths to go out on September 19th, to use their voters’ cards to vote them out. They should also look at the manifestoes of APM properly; look at the young men and women behind the scene. We are all very vibrant, young and full of energy for tomorrow, people who have age on their side and who are 100 per cent ready to serve. They should be given the maximum support. I will advise Edo youths because I ‘m really concerned about the future of Nigerian youths. I want youths to wake up to their responsibility, because we are tired of the recycling of leadership in our state and also in Nigeria. Each time I look at the situation of our young graduates who are on the streets looking for jobs, I feel like crying. Now, tell me how long we shall continue like this. Look at our girls being taken to Libya and European countries for prostitution and human trafficking. Hundreds of our girls in Benin have lost their lives in the process of navigating their way by roads and through the sea all to look for better lives. If we have responsible governments in place, our young boys and girls won’t risk taking roads and sea to Europe. I also want to thank our Oba for his role in putting an end to the illicit trade.
Some people are of the view that APM is working for the incumbent governor. How true is this?
As far as the APM is concerned in Edo State, we are very much in the governorship race, we are not working for any other political party. I’m the candidate of our party for the election, looking at my pedigree, would you say that I do not have the political credentials to run for the governorship position in my own state? I debunk that rumour today. Yes, there was a time I heard that some political parties in the state collapsed their structure for PDP, but the APM is not part of them. We couldn’t have gone to the Benin monarch to get his royal blessings for nothing. So, we are not part of any such deal. We have the people on our side, and we know that APM will occupy that position after our victory next week, September 19.
Do you have the financial power to compete with Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu?
We don’t have the money to throw around but we have decided to do our campaign electronically. The world has gone global, using modern technology in passing out information. The governor should get ready to hand over to me. The people may decide to collect their money and do all the dirty jobs, but the truth is that we are tired of these old politicians. It is time to chase them away. APM has its own money and will use it in a re-sponsible way, but we don’t have money for thugs and violence. These old people in APC and PDP have nothing to offer again. They go abroad with their children and wives. They loot our money and take it to Europe to feed their girl friends while our people are suffering. When I take over as governor, I will have full respect for traditional rulers and run all an inclusive government where everyone would be carried along. Our security system is in shambles in Edo State, we cannot do business and be successful where the security system is bad, that will be my major concern.
How would you rate Obaseki?
Obaseki is not a core politician, he came on board as a technocrat, but because he is not a politician, that is why he fell out with APC. He has tried as a technocrat, you can see some things that he has done. But my fear and my worry is that if he wins the election, I think he is going to be a disaster. My fear is for him not to go and mortgage the state. If you look at the rate at which he is borrowing money here and there, the money he said he was not going to spend is what he is currently spending. If you look very well, Edo State is already in debt. We may go into bankruptcy after the election which might not be too good for us as a state.
