The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has enrolled for adult education classes in preparation for the gubernatorial debate ahead of the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the State.
The candidate, according to the application form sited by our correspondent, enrolled for classes in Mathematics, English, and Social Studies.
He is enrolled at Ladewin Adult Education located in Jabi, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In the already filled document, “Application for Admission into the Adult Education Programme,” the applicant identified as Monday Okpebholo, born on August 29, 1972, enrolled on June 10, 2024.
Okpebholo also ticked Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) as his first school leaving certificate and Liberty Comprehensive College, Jos, Plateau State, as his last school attended, in the document seen by our correspondent.
The move by the APC candidate may not be unconnected with the recent criticism over his alleged inability to coherently express himself in public fora, with many describing him as a ‘hardly literate’ candidate.
The adult education class is expected to improve his speaking skills and expand his knowledge base in preparation for the governorship debate scheduled for later next month.
“Why I am even glad is that he is taking this very seriously and attending classes regularly despite his hectic electioneering campaign schedule. I hope he improves before the governorship debate because that is his main worry now,” a source close to the candidate said.
According to the source who pleaded anonymity, “He is tired and frustrated by the criticisms each time he has to speak in public. Most embarrassing is that they make it obvious that he is not as coherent and eloquent, always suggesting he speak less while others, often younger politicians, dominate the conversation.
“Just last week, the issue almost caused a scene. His deputy governorship candidate spoke for almost 30 minutes, addressing stakeholders and other guests during one of our meetings. Just before he got the microphone, the party chairman told him backstage that all he needed to do was to just greet the people without saying so much.
“He tried protesting against the idea, reminding him that he was the candidate and needed to sell his vision to the people, but the party chairman told him that they were avoiding social media backlash. He got back home cold and pained and mandated us to find a solution to this mess which was why we opted for the adult class option,” the source said.
