The candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Tuesday, said he was in the race to repair the alleged damage done by the current administration and he would not need outlandish English grammar to do so.

Okpebholo has faced constant taunting by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, which claims he can hardly speak good English during campaigns and media engagement.

However, the APC candidate, during an interactive session with journalists in Benin on Tuesday, insisted that he needed not speak the English language to solve the problems confronting Edo State.

He said his mission was to bring back Edo’s lost glory and wrest the state from the grip of those pursuing personal gains.

He said, “If elected by the special grace of God come September 21st, my job is to do things differently and restore Edo State’s lost glory. So we need a courageous leader who will do things rightly for the benefit of the Edo people.

“I really do not need big grammar to solve the problem of Edo. I already know what to do and I need to be active to achieve it.

“Today, Edo State is receiving N11bn in monthly allocation with the debt profile put at N135bn, thereby mortgaging the future of our children.

“At this point, what Edo really need is a panel beater. I’m here to panel beat the state where there will be no thuggery, where the Bendel Brewery will work, where our roads will be fixed, where our children will have a functional educational system with teachers in our classrooms.

“I’m coming as a servant leader and I will introduce practical leadership and govern with empathy as well as love for the people.”

In his remarks, the media consultant to the Edo State APC Governorship Campaign Council, Kassim Afegbua, said Edo State needed an empathic governor with emotional intelligence.

PUNCH