Women under the auspices of the Edo Female Opinion Leaders on Friday threw their weight behind the second term ambition of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.
The women, who converged on Benin, said the present administration in the state under Obaseki and his Deputy, Comrade Philip Shuaibu, was performing creditably well and deserved another term.
The convener of the meeting and a gender and development consultant, Dr. Nosakhare Aladeselu, said the opinion leaders were randomly selected.
Aladeselu said they were selected from a wide spectrum of socio-economic and political groups.
She said the women gathered were all voters and therefore stakeholders in the good governance of the state.
The convener, who said their attention had been drawn to some newspaper publications and campaign of calumny against the governor, described these as “petty political blackmail”.
Aladeselu said: “Their imaginative assessment geared toward running him down because of the upcoming governorship election which is still 12 months away is highly misplaced and premature.
“We are on same page with the views of millions of well-meaning stakeholders in the state who opined that the governor should be allowed to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
“We acknowledge the fact that no one is perfect, but as mothers of the state, we are calling on the good people of the state to give him the necessary support in the upcoming governorship election.”
Other women who spoke at the event, including the Executive Director, Edo State Agency for the Control of Aids, Flora Oyakhilome; President, Dominion Christian Women Association, Pastor Bridget Oyuheme; and Dr. Carol Dickson, were of the opinion that the Governor deserves a second term in office.
Oyakhilome said: “A winning team cannot be changed abruptly.
“We should give them a chance.
“We here we are the most vulnerable.
“We form the largest group of the electorate.
“We women make we support our Governor Obaseki, don’t listen to people.
“If we start to fight our leaders, we are going to be indirectly fighting ourselves.”
The highpoint of the event was a prayer session for divine protection for the Governor and his household, and for peace in Edo State and the country at large.
