Governors call me ‘Okpekpe marathon man’ —Gov Oshiomhole

Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has revealed that his counterparts have nicknamed him ‘Okpekpe marathon man’ because of his regular participation in the annual 10km Okpekpe Road Race.

The governor who spoke on Thursday during the visit of the Chairman, Main Organising Committee of the Okpekpe race, Dan Ngerem, and other members which included Chief Mike Itemuagbor visited him at the Government House. Oshiomhole admitted that he gets excited when he is called the ‘Okpekpe marathon man’ by other state governors because it shows the government’s investment in road infrastructure in Okpekpe has been a progressive move.



He said his conviction to open up the rural areas to the same opportunities found in the urban cities motivated his administration to embark on aggressive rural road infrastructure.

He said, “The most eloquent and the most potent statement we can make is to aggressively invest in rural infrastructure because our people do not ask us to give them food to eat; they just ask us to provide them the enabling environment to apply their intellect, their energy, their creativity so that at least, every two hands can feed every one mouth.

“The Okpekpe road compares very well and is even better with federal roads based on specification, design and even the width of the road because for me, to be rural is not to be inferior and therefore standards should be the same. I do not subscribe to some specification for rural roads another specification for urban roads.

“Your federation adopting the Okpekpe race which is a wonderful initiative is a blessing and thus confirmed that we were right. One of the things I have been accused of since coming here is that I have spent resources of states in building roads that leads to hamlets and I did say that I have no apologies. Nigeria is a collection of hamlets and Presidents after Presidents have come from a hamlet and this governor comes from a hamlet.

“To come from a hamlet is not to be inferior. I am so happy that this is happening and even happier when I hear people talking about Okpekpe and even myself from my previous participation in the marathon, my brother governors refer to me as the ‘Okpekpe Marathon man’ and I enjoy it.”

Ngerem, who presented a copy of the Bronze Label Certificate awarded by the International Amateur Athletics Federation for the race to Oshiomhole, said the governor’s infrastructural development has exposed Okpekpe to the international community.

He said, “The first time I came here, it took us about two to three hours to get to Okpekpe from Auchi but when I came for the first edition of the Okpekpe Road Race, it took us about 10 to 15 minutes to get there. That was a shocker to me. For me this underscores the relevance of good governance.”

Ngerem said this year’s race would be beamed live on television and will attract participants from 15 countries across the globe.