The Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, governorship candidate in Delta State, Chief Abel Immanuel Edijala, in this interview, offers insight into his political trajectory and vision for the state. Edijala, who displays his mastery of the concerns of those he seeks to govern, is confident of emerging as the 5th civilian governor of the state.
After undergoing consultation meetings across some local government areas out of the 25 in the state, How how successful were they?
Having gone to some local government areas within the 25 local governments in Delta, I can say that we have gotten a huge success far beyond what I did expect from the beginning. And the whole concept came about from the realisation that we need to do more on our previous consultations. During some of my consultations, people gathered to listen to us and had the open opportunity of responding to what we had to say. The consultations, meetings, offered us the opportunity of knowing the challenges Our people are going through in the electioneering process.
In all the meetings there were a lot of people who were selected by the people themselves. The selection cut across the various strata of the society; it was not just limited to the political class. The various levels of community leadership including women and youth groups were represented. It has been quite enriching because it gave us the opportunity of knowing what their challenges are. Through that discourse, we have been able to understand their feelings and we gave the assurance that we will address all their concerns. I think we left every one of those local governments we visited better informed and better understood. We now have a more reconciled people and a united family. I am not talking about the political family alone, but the entire populace in those places. I think that is something that should be held regularly beyond our electoral victory.
In specific terms, can you tell us some of the particular challenges you discovered during the course of these meetings?
There were a lot of issues bordering on the neglect of some communities. That is an issue that needs to be tackled because if we want to be fair and just, we should be able to address their complaints. Some people have talked about infrastructural development in the cities and the need to extend it to rural communities. I know that nothing has been done in Delta, especially in the rural areas but we used the opportunity to reassure the people about our commitment to a holistic development programme. We will try to be fair to all. There were lots of issues, but the key issue for me is that the youth want to engage in politics and they also want assurance of a better future for them. They demanded that they be empowered through employment and any means the government considers meaningful. We are looking forward to putting processes in place to achieve that. It also gave us the opportunity of telling the youth about the importance of being responsible and staying peaceful.
Prior to your meetings, your Consultations across the state were adjudged to be impressive in every way. What does it feel like considering the intrigues that characterised the build-up to the Primaries that produced you as the PRP candidate?
I have been a politician for a very long period. So, the intrigues that characterised the process were very normal. There was nothing unusual about it because everybody going into the race planned to win. I am more concerned about the people of Urhoboland who have thrown all caution to the wind in the name of politics. The pride of Urhobo nation will have to be retooled. I am proud to be a full-fledged Urhobo son and I will hold my ground anywhere, any day. So, my primary role is to bring back the smiles of my Urhobo people and Deltans at large, who have been so traumatised by the recent happenings within the political space.
PRP is the platform for the real change that we all desire and our structures are in every ward in the state and the results we are getting are encouraging and enriching. If you look at the political composition of the state, you will find out that PRP is springing up in a very faster way with encouraging structures, physical and human, in every ward in the state. Others are waiting for manna to fall from heaven because they are just grandstanding and waiting for an endorsement.
