Barrister Kenneth Imansuangbon (aka the Riceman), has declared his ambition to succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki in 2024.
He state this shortly after the declaration of the governorship election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Imansuangbon said: “Esan Agenda starts this second term. As soon as INEC declared Godwin Obaseki re-elected we(Esan) are the next in line to be governor of Edo State.
“There is no doubt about that. It is not negotiable. By the grace of God I will be the next governor of Edo State.”
He described the re-election of Governor Obaseki as “Sweet victory; very good victory; deserved victory given by God and men.
“I must thank God for Governor Obaseki’s victory. I also thank Mr. President who allowed democracy to be deepened. I must of course also thank INEC that did very well. They allowed the will of the people to stand. I want to thank the security agencies who allowed the will of the people to prevail.
“I want to thank the courage of Godwin Obaseki who offered himself to fight and deepen democracy. I want to thank Edo people specially. When people are united, when they are courageous there is nothing they cannot do.
“I have always said that Edo people are the finest persons created by God under heaven. We saw what Edo people did and that’s who Edo man is. When we resolve we resolve. When we say yes, we don’t mean no.”
On godfatherism he said: “The godfathers have been flattened. This is the end of the godfathers. Their era is gone. This is a new chapter, a new beginning. So, to this extent I want to say that quickly and swiftly Obaseki must settle down to begin to do the people’s bidding. He has no reason now not to work for the Edo people.
“That’s why I supported him. That’s where we are going to now. He must improve on what he has done with Edobest. He must do well in agriculture. He must create the enabling environment and allow more investors(local and regional) to flood the streets of Edo State. We must stop insecurity quickly and make sure that a secured Edo State guarantees a developmental Edo State.”
“Some of us are his allies now. We will tell him the truth. We will speak and tell the truth to power. We will make sure that Edo benefits and is better than where we were in the past.”
