The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the Edo State governorship election, Dr. Asue Ighodalo has expressed concern over rumours of the deployment of electoral officers from Imo and Kogi states to supervise the poll.

Speaking in an interview, Ighodalo rejected any such move, saying that he does not have confidence in the capacity of electoral officers to conduct a free and fair election.

“We are hearing rumours that INEC wants to come to our election with officials from Imo and officials from Kogi.

“We will please implore INEC that we in Edo State want fresh officials from places that have run electoral processes that are free and fair and not places where polls have been questioned.

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“I will please appreciate if INEC doesn’t bring Kogi officials or Imo officials into Edo State.”

On why he doesn’t want officials from the two states, he said: “Question marks have been placed on the processes in those two states. Edo State people are peace loving, they know light from darkness, so they don’t want any process that is going to be subverted or subversive.

“We want a level-playing field so that the wishes of the people of Edo State is realized on September 21.”

The Governor of Ondo state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has appointed no fewer than 344 political aides in the state just 10 weeks before the November 16 governorship election.

The aides comprise 28 senior special assistants and 316 special assistants.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan, the appointments were spread across the 18 local government areas, 33 local council development areas (LCDAs), and 203 political wards in the state.

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In a press statement issued by the CPS, he said, “In continuation of efforts to enhance governance and service delivery to the people of the state, the Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has approved the appointment of new Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants (SAs).”

Meanwhile, a Public Affairs Analyst in the State, Olujimi Adekanle, has berated the governor over the appointments, describing them as unnecessary and a misdirection.

“Who are those responsible for the SSAs and SAs appointments in Ondo State? I am very sure Mr. Governor was misled; tails were given heads and heads were given tails. I saw some personalities who were eminently qualified to be senior special assistants but were relegated to just special assistants.

“Honestly, I don’t understand the yardstick for these appointments; some people should be respected for their political activities and the offices they held in the past.

“Don’t be surprised if you see scores of newly appointees declining their appointments (hunger may not allow some).”

The All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate in Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo and former governor of the state, Senator Adams Oshiomhole have been flayed over their alleged indifference to the state of federal roads in the state.

The director-general of the Asue Ighodalo Campaign Council, Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, called out the two APC senators at a campaign rally in Ekpoma just as party chiefs lamented what they claimed as the bid by Oshiomhole to foist an unintelligible governor on the state to achieve his personal desires.

Speaking in pidgin English on the state of the road, Iduoriyekemwen, a former member of the Edo State House of Assembly he lamented the state of federal roads saying that the two APC senators, Oshiomhole and Okpebhello were indifferent to the conditions and as such failed to put them as part of their constituency projects.

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“Look at our federal roads in Edo. All the time I used to travel to Abuja it used to take me five to six hours to travel to Abuja from Benin, but now from Auchi to Benin can take you up to nine hours.

“Oshiomhole is a senator, Okpebholo is a senator instead of them to divert their constituency projects to work on the roads they refused. Now they say that they want to buy our future.”

The rally was also attended by Governor Godwin Obaseki who urged the voters to vote for Ighodalo so he could build on the legacy that his administration had laid.

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According to Governor Obaseki, a blueprint for the development of the state for the next 30 years had been established and he as such vote for Ighodalo who he said was best positioned to sustain the development agenda.

The state PDP chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi also rallied party supporters to be steadfast in their support and not to allow the opportunity of producing the governor slip from them.

In his own address, Ighodalo vowed to ensure that the manifesto which he said was garnered from discussions with stakeholders across the different wards in the state was fully implemented.

He disclaimed claims by political opponents who he said were using the name of President Bola Tinubu to intimidate voters and state agencies with the intention of rigging the election. Ighodalo said that Tinubu is a democrat who will not use the apparatus of the state to foist partisan political agenda.