Monday Okpebholo, the APC candidate for Edo governorship, is once again under investigation after making a contentious remark during a campaign event in Ovia-north LGA on Thursday. The comment soon went viral on social media.
The embarrassing incident happened soon after Edo North senator Adams Oshiomhole spoke to the assembly and brought attention to the grave security situation that the region’s farmers are facing.
“This land is blessed with huge arable land, but our farmers cannot go to the farm because of insecurity,” Oshiomhole remarked, setting the stage for Okpebholo’s blunder.
In response to the concerns raised, Okpebholo intended to assure the audience of his commitment to transforming Edo State’s security landscape if elected.
However, his message was overshadowed by a significant slip of the tongue. “We’re going to provide you with insecurity,” he declared, inadvertently promising the opposite of safety.
The error did not go unnoticed. Video clips of the moment, showing a visibly alarmed Oshiomhole signaling to Okpebholo to correct his statement, have since proliferated online, fueling both criticism and humor at the candidate’s expense.
He then said, “We are going to provide you with security; we are going to fight insecurity.
“We’re going to make sure that the evil ones are out of our land. This land does not belong to kidnappers.”
This incident marks yet another challenge for Okpebholo, coming just 24 hours after previous headlines for a different controversial statement, complicating his campaign trail as the September 21 governorship election approaches.
On Friday, video clips of Okpebholo saying he would repair interstate roads and claim double the amount from the federal government if elected surfaced online.
The governorship election is scheduled for September 21, and Okpebholo is up against Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) and 14 other candidates.
