Some Edo indigenes resident in Abuja under the aegis of Committee of Edo Leaders and Patriots have thrown their weight behind Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for the Sept. 19 governorship election in Edo.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja, the group said that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) remained their preferred candidate due to their belief that Ize-Iyamu possessed the capacity to reposition Edo.

President of the Group, Mr. Isaac Ehigiator, said that over 50, 000 Edo indigenes resident in Abuja would be mobilized to ensure that Ize-Iyamu emerged the governor in the forthcoming election.

According to Ehigiator, this body has had the opportunity of scrutinizing the credentials, antecedents, and programs/manifestoes for the Edo project as presented by contending aspirants.

“It is our view and conviction that our dear state deserves better.

“The task of repositioning Edo should, therefore, be holistic and driven with sincerity of purpose.

“It must be emphasized that Edo boasts of more than 50, 000 indigenes resident in the FCT with voting rights domiciled in Edo.

“ I want to affirm on behalf of the group that the manifesto presented by Ize-Iyamu as vividly captured in the `SIMPLE Agenda’ represents the true aspiration of all Edo sons and daughters irrespective of where they reside,’’ Ehigiator said.

On his part, former Minority Whip in the House of Representatives, Sampson Osagie, said that a lot needed to be done in terms of governance in Edo.

He said that Edo was lagging behind in infrastructural development, particularly in the health and education sector.

Osagie said that Ize-Iyamu demonstrated the political will to lift the state out of poverty by empowering the youths as well as ensuring the effective protection of lives and property.

Similarly, a former member of the House of Representatives, West Idahosa, described Ize-Iyamu as a candidate with the required experience to move Edo to greater heights.

According to him, it is easy for those who know him to buy.

He said that electing the APC candidate would further attract Federal Government’s projects to the state.