By IGHOMUAYE, Benin

Ahead of the September 19 gubernatorial election in Edo State, women from all walks of life are endorsing the incumbent governor of the ruling party in Edo state, Godwin Obaseki for a second tenure in office.

Declaring their support for the governor of the state in separate press conferences, Market women from the eighteen Local Government Areas of the state, a coalition of Professional Women, female teachers from across the eighteen LGAs, female leaders and members of the All Progressives Congress and female political office holders all said they are contributing their quota towards the purchase of the N22.5 million APC nomination form to enable the governor have a second tenure.

Leader of the Market Women Association in the state, Madam Blacky Ogiamen, who disclosed this in Benin City while speaking to journalists, after a meeting of the leadership of the association drawn from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state said Obaseki has performed more than they expected.

She said: “We want to appreciate Governor Godwin Obaseki, for the job well-done. Before he came into power, our former governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as the patron of the market women then, told us categorically that if we give our support to Obaseki as Governor, that he will do a lot of projects, of which Obaseki is doing now.

“We are solidly behind him; we are ready to support him for another four years. We will contribute our widow’s mite to buy his form so that he will complete his two tenure as governor of Edo state.”

Explaining why they decided to join forces to ensure the re-election bid of Obaseki, Ogiamen said Obaseki has performed beyond what former Governor Adams Oshiomhole promised them while introducing him to market women.

She said that Obaseki has not in any way disappointed his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole and since he did not disappoint Oshiomhole, God will not disappoint him.

“He is not a noise maker, he is a man of peace. We will support him to win Edo state for APC,” she declared.

Also a coalition of Women Professionals among them, leaders and members of the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Association of Private School Proprietors, Association of Female Pharmacists, Association of Women Engineers, National Association of Women Journalists NAWOJ, female leaders of the NLC and the TUC in the State, and members of the Idia College Old Students Association addressed a press conference in which they threw their weight behind governor Obaseki’s second term bid.

Spokesperson for the Coalition, Reverend Mrs. Helen Atekha Odemwingie said they have decided not to be left out in determining who becomes the next governor of Edo State.

She said “we stand up this morning to endorse our Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy Philip Shaibu, we are women and we have feeling and this passion in us for every child, we see him as our own. You see the way he has been honouring us, we have decided to contribute to the purchase of his ticket. (Daily Sun)

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