Esosa Iyawe, a 40-year-old Benson Idahosa University graduate who was elected to represent the Oredo Federal Constituency of Edo State in the House of Representatives during the February 25 National Assembly elections, has stated that he intended to relocate to another country before winning the election.
In an interview with Punch, Iyawe stated that he joined the Labour Party after Obi defected from the PDP. When asked why he decided to run for the seat, Iyawe cited the high cost of living and the deplorable state of the city. Nation forced him to run, and he had even made plans to relocate before deciding to enter politics. He was eventually elected to the lower chamber by the Labour Party.
‘’At one point, I even had plans of relocating to another country because the more one works, the less one gets as the naira loses value daily. The cost of living is high while inflation is also skyrocketing even though Nigeria is blessed with natural resources. A lot of countries don’t have one-10th of what we have but they are living well due to proper planning while we are still battling to make things work for several years and we remain underdeveloped. So, I decided to put my hat in the ring to ensure that if Obi became the president, I would assist in making and supporting bills that would enable him to function well as one of his disciples. I believe that we need laws based on common sense to make things work. As an engineer, I believe that I have the capacity to do things that will positively impact the people of Oredo. That was why I actually jumped into the race.”
Iyawe spoke about how he ran his campaign and persuaded people to vote for him.
‘’I prayed to God for people in the constituency to see the good things I was doing during the campaign. I didn’t conduct my campaign the way others did. I went to see the common man who the leaders had been using over the years. I told them that they could not collect money for their votes and still expect to get power. Collecting money means you sell your right to question the leaders when things are not going well in the country. My slogan during the campaign was: ‘You either take power or money’. I let them know that taking power means a better future for our children. If I wasn’t a candidate, I would have been among the people at the forefront of campaigning against the old order.”
