“Don’t expect good governance when you elect mediocre as Governor”, Mayaki warns
…..Cautions on use of federal might
In less than 10 days to the September 21st governorship election, a former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Mr. John Mayaki, has warned that the people should never expect good governance when they promote mediocrity instead of meritocracy.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mayaki warned of plans by some unscrupulous politicians to deploy federal might to rig the election in favor of their mediocre candidate. He called on the people to vote for the best among the candidates – Dr. Asue Ighodalo and Barrister Osarodion Ogie.
Mayaki said, “In mature democracies, candidates vying for political positions emerge victorious not with the pettiness that the candidate of the APC, Monday Okpebholo, and his leaders are now known for, but with intelligence – such as the one Dr. Asue Ighodalo has exuded. Not in desperation, but with a sound manifesto; not with profligacy, but with economic sagacity; not with mediocrity, but with meritocracy; not just by incumbency, but by competency; and most importantly, not by ‘federal might’, but by the candidates’ capabilities.
“There’s no doubt that the APC’s candidate and his leaders are merely depending on federal might for their mediocre candidate to win. They are desperate to impose a candidate who lacks the competency to lead as governor, without considering the damage it would do to good governance and the future of the state.
“If anything, what has dominated the political space in Edo State – especially within the APC fold – is the belief that they have already won the election. They boast of federal might and rigging capacity for a candidate severely lacking in economic sagacity, who does not know his right from his left.
“It is important to state, for those of us who are genuinely interested in good governance, that we must be careful about promoting the use of ‘federal might’, crackdown on opposition, arrests and rigging, because of their deleterious effects on our political security, democracy, and good governance.
“Let me say here that federal might is not just deleterious to citizens’ political security but insidious to our young democracy. For this reason, we must all be watchful and careful about what we wish for ourselves and society. We must be cautious about whom we empower to leadership positions through manipulations – they certainly won’t listen to us as citizens because they were rigged into office,” Mayaki warned.
