Saturday bye-election: my first assignment in the Senate will be to lobby for the fixing of the deplorable roads in Edo Central – Okojie

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The PDP and Prince Joe Okojie have focused their campaign on grassroots engagement and highlighting governance gaps under the new APC regime. Okojie has been touring communities “through the length and breadth of Esan land” to reconnect with voters and local leaders . A key plank of his message is fixing infrastructure, particularly federal roads that crisscross Edo Central. During campaign stops, Okojie laments that it is “virtually impossible to move from point A to point B” due to deplorable road conditions, and he vows that his “first assignment” in the Senate would be to lobby the federal Ministry of Works to rehabilitate these roads  . By foregrounding tangible issues like road repairs, Okojie is tapping into real frustrations of constituents who feel the region’s development has lagged. He also mentions setting up skills acquisition centers to tackle youth unemployment and empower constituents with vocational skills  . This technocratic, issues-based approach is a deliberate contrast to the APC’s personality-driven campaign.
Alongside policy promises, the PDP’s strategy involves questioning the fairness of the electoral process and urging neutrality from institutions. Both Prince Okojie and the PDP leadership have publicly called on INEC and security agencies to be professional and impartial on election day  . They frequently remind the public of their grievances from the 2024 governorship election, alleging that election officials and security forces “failed in their responsibilities” during that poll . By doing so, PDP seeks to cast doubt on APC’s sweeping victory narrative and to mobilize supporters through a sense of injustice that needs to be corrected at the ballot box. Prince Okojie has exuded confidence in his chances – telling journalists he is “pretty confident that the PDP will prevail,” even predicting he will win all five LGAs if the process is fair  . This confidence is partly strategic bravado to energize PDP supporters in the face of APC’s dominance. The PDP campaign also leverages local traditional institutions for support; Okojie has engaged with traditional rulers in communities like Igueben, seeking their blessings and endorsement  – a customary political move in the region to shore up legitimacy. In summary, the PDP’s strategy is twofold: address voter needs (roads, jobs) better than the ruling party has, and guard against any malpractice by shining a light on the process. They are framing the contest as an opportunity for Edo Central to elect a senator who will truly “speak up and champion their interests,” implicitly contrasting Okojie’s expected vibrancy with what they call the “muted” performance of previous senators