Peter Obi has been identified as the winner of the 2023 presidential election. The Edo South Labour Party senatorial candidate, Barrister Neda Imasuen in his prediction said a landslide victory for the party in the February 25 polls was expected.
Imasuen who made the prediction in Benin also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to, as a matter of urgency, public interest and sustainable democratic principles, make the continuous Voters Registration exercise functional.
Imasuen who was addressing guests at the maiden edition of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), NTA Benin Chapel lecture series, said, “INEC should make the continuous voter registration functional by ensuring that the agency continues registering eligible voters without stopping.”
The Labour Party candidate pointed out that the current CVR is only seasonal, which makes it difficult to call it or refer to it as continuous.
Speaking on security issues on election day, Imasuen charged the police to come out bold to show the world what they have done in the past to curb vote buying, adding that all eyes are on the security agents to make the election the ever witnessed in the history of Nigeria.
While speaking on his chances and that of his party, Imasuen said that having traversed all the wards in Edo South and gauged the mood of the electorate, it was crystal clear that a resurgent LP is the party to beat as the people are ready for a clean break with the old decadent order.
With a dismissive wave of the hand, Imasuen explained that the two major political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have failed woefully, noting that what is needed at the moment are people with sound minds like LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi and his running mate Dati, who are very passionate about the country.
He took the APC to the cleaners, saying it was making life very difficult for the ordinary Nigerians and not fulfilling its numerous promises since it took over the reins of power in the last seven and a half years, emphasizing that it was cause for concern that 70% of the money for the financing of the 2023 budget will be sourced from the loan.
He said: “There is nothing new about these parties that you and I and the ordinary man don’t already know. We need sound minds in this country; people who are very passionate about the country and not people who come for their pockets. We have to change this narrative. What are they going to offer us now? They have plunged us into serious debt and keep borrowing.
“For there to be a change, we must break out of this circle and try something new and this something new is Peter Obi and Labour Party. We should vote for Peter Obi and all Labour Party candidates so that we can be able to bring out this change that every Nigerian yearns for.”
Imasuen, who is a former legislative aide to Senator Mathew Urhoghide said that he will seek the passage of a bill abolishing age criteria in employment for youths, lamenting that most youths who graduate at between 21 and 26 years are deemed unemployable at 31 to 33 years having, ironically been unemployed for years after leaving schools.
He said that he will pay serious attention to the problem of kidnapping for ransom and other forms of insecurity in the district in a determined effort at tackling the problem before it totally gets out of control.
Blessed with a very fertile land where cash crops and fruits like pineapples are grown in commercial quantity, Imasuen explained that he intends to seek ways and means to set up a juice processing factory for the benefit of Edo South people.
On the high cost of education, he said: “School fees have risen to a level which is no longer affordable to many parents. If elected, I’ll look at how to provide loans to students to go to school at a very low-interest rate. When I did my Masters in the United States, the interest rate was a mere 1% and has not changed. It’s spread out over a very long time. When you cannot pay, you’ll write to tell them and they will excuse you.”