By  GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

BENIN – FORMER Minister of Transport in the General Sani Abacha regime and a member of Peoples Democratic Party,  PDP, Board of Trustees, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, yesterday, in Benin, Edo State, said the July 14 governorship election in the state  would be a rehearsal and a replay of the 1983 gubernatorial contest between late Prof.

Ambrose Alli of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, and Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, during the Second Republic.

He said Edo State was crucial to the party and Nigeria and as such should not be left in the hands of rascals.

He added that the entire national leadership of PDP would soon relocate to the state to join in the campaign train of Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (rtd), the governorship candidate of PDP, to ensure his victory in the election.

Chief Babatope, who addressed newsmen in Benin, said “You must know that  PDP is never going to joke with Edo State. Edo State used to be a part of the old Bendel State, which is now Edo and Delta. I don’t want to go into historical and political analysis of Edo State for anybody to know that the battle coming is not going to be a small battle, a major battle for PDP.”

He assured Edo PDP of the support of the national leadership of the party and people, who he described as objectively minded throughout the country to ensure its victory in the election, saying  “PDP’s aspiration is to take and reclaim this state, which is very crucial and important to Nigeria.”

He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle the challenges of unemployment, bad roads, epileptic power supply and the ‘Boko Haram’ insurgency.