The former chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has declared his intention to run for the Edo North Senate seat on the platform of the APC ahead of the 2023 general election.

Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, declared to run for the Edo North Senate seat while speaking at his 70th birthday ceremony held at his residence in Iyamoh in the Etsako West Local Government Area of the state on Monday.

Oshiomhole’s declaration for the Senate seat is coming barely 24 hours after the incumbent, Senator Francis Alimekhina, declared his bid for a third term.

The former governor said he had positively accepted the call on him by several interest groups within and outside the APC to vie for the Senate seat.

He said “It is true that for quite sometimes, many of our people have asked me why don’t you contest for the Senate and I said first APC has crisis, let us fix the crisis, let there be convention because you cannot begin to discuss what kind of baby you are going to have when you are not married.

“I said until APC is fixed you cannot talk of contesting election using the platform, have been chairman of the party, I know the danger we face if we are not able to fix the party and this was completed and consummated on the 25th of March and we have now elected a brand new National Working Committee and a brand new National Executive Council under the able leadership of a former governor, a former minister and a current senator, Adamu Abdullahi.

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“We have done what needs to be done and I am inspired by the position of the new leadership for us to do what we need to do to retain power in 2023. I am therefore convinced that this is the time to proceed to the next step of the conversation which is about who lead the great people of Edo North in the Senate by 2023.”

Oshiomhole added: “After all consultations, you must be convinced that you can do it and improve on it. These times that people have been asking me, I have also been examining myself because I do not want to go to the senate and sit down, listen to motions and collect salary at the end of the month.

“I do not believe that I need to go to the Senate to take a sabbatical to take a rest because that is an important institution where men and women are elected by their people to contribute to affairs that affect their people, how funds are allocated and to ensure that the people of Nigeria have value for their resources and money.

“We lay more emphasis on the rotation of people, I am more concerned about even development, I have made it clear before as president of the NLC that democracy means that the leaders must listen to the people and if he deviates from that, the people have the right to interrogate the leader if I did that as ordinary Nigerian I believe that as a senator, your interest cannot be ignored in the red chamber in Abuja.

“Our leaders from the six local government areas have gathered here today to say I should contest and I believe that with your support, we will get there,” the former governor said.

The Star