The candidate of the Labour Party in the November 16 governorship election in Ondo State, Sola Ebiseni has boasted that the party is the party to beat in the forthcoming governorship election.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Tuesday, in Akure, the state capital, the LP candidate declared that since former Governor Olusegun Mimiko governed the state between 1999 and 2014, the state has had no addition to its infrastructure.
The LP ruled the state between 1999 and 2014 during the administration of Dr Olusegun Mimiko which took over from late Dr Olusegun Agagu of the then Peoples Democratic Party but the administration switched to the PDP shortly before the 2015 general election.
Ebiseni said, “Labour Party is a household political party in Ondo State and indeed the first political party with the grace of being elected twice for the governorship. My deputy, Dayo Awude and I were commissioners in the government headed by Dr Olusegun Mimiko.
“Our campaign is woven around the achievements of that government in education, health, integrated rural development, and women and youth empowerment.
“Since our departure, none has been added to the modern markets we built in the crannies of the state, roads infrastructures, the University of Medical Sciences and other first-class facilities attached to it like the Trauma Centre and Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre all of which have become moribund and neglected by the present administration.
“Incidentally, these projects are easily identifiable with their Labour Party orange colours. The people believe we will do much more knowing that we were part of the success stories. The other parties have nothing to show except personal controversial records of their candidates.”
Ebiseni, who reacted to a report that the party was asleep while others had commenced the campaign, said the party had adopted what he called a strategic campaign, different from the usual open campaign.
He announced that the party has begun a strategic campaign across the 18 local government areas of the state to win the poll.
“Everybody is used to the usual conventional style of campaign where everybody from the wards to local governments, will gather at a place and everybody will be talking. Ours is not like that, we are embarking on a strategic campaign. As I am speaking with you, we are campaigning everywhere in the state.
“We are not in the business of crowd rentals or preaching to the disciples by hauling our members in buses to Akure and end up persuading the converted; we are meeting the people where they are and it easy to remind them and point to Labour Party projects in their localities,” he stated.
Ebiseni called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, the security agencies and other stakeholders to play the game according to the rule to ensure the forthcoming poll is free, fair and credible.