…As Edo Inaugurates Women’s Campaign Council
As preparations for the 2023 general elections gather momentum, the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Wednesday inaugurated its Women Campaign Council to canvass votes and mobilise support for the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
The Campaign Council was inaugurated at the PDP State Campaign Office located at the former NPDC building, along Adesuwa Road in Benin City. First Lady of Edo State, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki heads the council, supported by the wife of the Deputy Governor, Comrade Mrs. Maryann Philip-Shaibu.
In her comments, the chairperson of the Campaign Council, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki noted that the focus of the Council was to mobilise, in an unprecedented manner, like Edo 2020 Governorship Election, for PDP’s victory in the 2023 General Elections.
Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt.Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu extolled the leadership role played by the First Lady and his wife, Maryann, in the build-up to the Edo 2020 Governorship Election. He praised them for how they have continued to advocate for more women’s representation in governance.
According to Shaibu, “women are the heartbeat of any election in Nigeria and that is why Edo State Government takes women’s political inclusiveness very important”.
“We pride ourselves as a State with the highest ratio of women involvement in the government decision-making process”.
“We sincerely appreciate the sacrifices made by women. They enjoy just as they suffer the consequences of good and bad leadership in Nigeria”.
“This is another opportunity for the women to take back their country by electing an experienced president who will hit the ground running and not one who will be used as another experiment for the cabals in Nigeria. That experienced presidential candidate is Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa”, Shaibu added.
Speaking earlier, Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, described the proposed plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN to redesign the naira notes as political, noting that the move was a ploy by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government to sway voters ahead of the 2023 general elections, saying that it is targeted at the opposition.
Obaseki lambasted the Federal Government for the move, asserting that the redesign of the nation’s currency should not be a priority, as the majority of the citizens are suffering from hunger, poverty and economic hardship.
He added: “they said we should all bring our naira and give it to them because they want to change it for us. Is that our priority now? Does a change of currency reduce the price of food in the market? They said they want to change our currency and the dollar is going higher every day. We can’t even see dollar again”.
“I am an economist and I can tell you categorically that this policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and Federal Government has no basis in Nigeria’s economy. There is no reason to do this; the move is purely political as there is no urgency in changing our currency”.
“The urgency should be on how to get food for our citizens, to remove starvation and hunger from the land. The urgency should be on how to maintain discipline in our monetary policy so that we can manage our foreign exchange rate because we are import-dependent”, the fuming Governor added.