BREAKING NEWS, Cover, Featured
–
Godwin Obaseki, flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress and his rival, Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party along with those of three other minority parties will jump hurdles to convince the electorate to vote them into power in the governorship election slated for September 10
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Jul 18, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE race to Denis Osadebe Avenue, seat of government of Edo State, will be a collision between former allies turned political opponents fighting for who will control the soul of the state. It is also not battle for the faint-hearted as all manner of maneuvering and juggling of cold headed political arithmetic is already being done by political gladiators in the state to gain upper hand as the September 10, governorship election in the state gathers momentum.
The Edo gubernatorial election is a contest in which political juggernauts from all the political parties in the race will deploy their entire arsenal to truncate the ambition of their opponents. The will marshal lies and half-truths and make political promises to turn the state into an Eldorado in their media vibes in their bid to convince the electorates in Edo state to elect them as governor to preside over the affairs of the state for the next four years after the expiration of the eight-year tenure of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the state.
Already, about five political parties have so far nominated candidates for the governorship election. They are Godwin Obaseki, the flagbearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bishop Akhalamhe of the People Democratic Change, PDC, and Osaro Agbonifo Obaseki of the Accord Party.
Of all the candidates, those of the APC and the PDP are seen as the two major contenders for the plum post of number one citizen in Edo. This is because they are the two dominant parties not only in the state but in the country with large followers.
From all indications, the APC appears to have the upper hand in the race because the incumbent governor is likely to use its resources to support its candidate against an equally powerful party in the state. It remains to see how far the governor can go to disproof the popular belief that the PDP candidate helped to crown him as the governor of the State when they were allies in the same political party that brought him to power before they parted ways. The governor is likely to fight hard to ensure that his own candidate sustain his legacies in the state by ensuring continuity. He will also like to win to prove that he indeed is in control of Edo politics, especially after what transpired during the last presidential election when the PDP won in Edo State.
Although Ize-Iyamu is seen as the political nemesis of Oshimhole and a source of worry, the APC crowned prince Obaseki is also not leaving anything to chance. This is why the party is at work to heal all the animosity that reared its head as a result of the outcome of its primaries which was hotly contested. As at now, there is still bickering in the APC ranks as the losers in the primaries are asking the party hierarchy to cancel the result. Some of the losers are also threatening to go to court to truncate the result of the primaries.
Realnews found that nearly all those who contested the primaries with Obaseki feel that he is the usurper who is not well grounded in politics. Obaseki is believed to have been unduly helped by Governor Oshiomhole to emerge the winner. Before the primaries, there were accusations and counter accusations among the contestants regarding the propriety or otherwise of the aspiration of Obaseki. Some said he was not a party man and a politician, but only a technocrat who by chance found himself in government. He defeated 11 other aspirants, including Pius Odubu, Edo State deputy governor, Chris Ogiemwonyi, former minister of works and Peter Esele, former president, Trade Union Congress to emerge the APC governorship candidate.
There was protest by other contestants when Obaseki was declared winner of the primaries. Those who championed the protest were Ogiemwonyi and Imansuangbon. During a joint press briefing, the two contestants declared their rejection of the result. They called on the national leadership of APC and the party’s Primary Appeal Panel to order a repeat and a forensic analysis of all the ballot papers used at the primaries. They alleged that the ballot papers used for the primaries had been compromised.
“A criminal investigation has become necessary because the party members hold the view strongly that no one individual or group should be allowed to destroy the good image of APC and its leadership that is committed to free and fair primaries, internal democracy and democratisation in Nigeria,” Ogiemwonyi and Imansuangbon stated in joint statement they made available to journalists.
They also accused agents of the state government of victimising party officials and delegates believed not to be in support of the governor’s anointed aspirant before and during the primaries. Ogiemwonyi and Imansuangbon claimed that some of the acts of victimisations included the suspension of some ward chairmen, removal of Orhionmwon local government party chairman, Matthew Ehigie, and suspension of APC Edo South senatorial chairman, Gentleman Amegor. They also cited alleged attempts by agents of the Edo State government to substitute names of authentic delegates for the primaries.
But Obaseki, who is the chairman of Afrinvest, is making overtures to reconcile members of the party so they can present a common front to fight off the PDP might. There is the belief that the APC national party stalwarts are solidly behind its flag bearer, who was until his nomination was the chairman, Edo State Government’s Economic and Strategy Team, EST. This being so they will work with state party officials to quieten members of the party who are aggrieved.
With this task done, Obasaeki, who used to be an investment banker before venturing into politics, will see clearly to confront his formidable opponent from the PDP, Ize-Iyamu, a pastor and former secretary to the Edo state government, who mobilised to clinch the state for the PDP during the presidential election in 2015.
There is no doubt that Obaseki, the preferred candidate of Governor Oshiomhole, is qualified for the job. He is largely seen as a technocrat who rose to the echelon of his profession in the financial services industry in the private sector.
Obaseki will largely be running his campaign based on the pedigree of the Oshiomhole and the record he set in the state. Some indigenes of the state believe that the governor has performed, uplifting the state’s abysmal infrastructure to where it is now functional and generally improving the well-being of the people with well thought out policies and programmes.
Also working in Obaseki’s favour is the general expression of confidence the APC national leadership and the national electoral committee that conducted the primary election for the aspirants have in him. The ruling APC government in the country is expected to mobilise its forces to ensure that Edo state do not slip out of its hand being the only state in the South-South that is controlled by the party.
Also supporters of Obaseki believe his chances are buoyed by the fact that he is a technocrat like Oshiomhole, Professor Ambrose Ali and S. O. Ogbemudia, the last two being past governors of the state who are well liked by the people. They argue that in Oshiomhole’s administration, Obaseki is the brain behind the many successes it achieved in terms of policy formulation, programmes, planning and implementation.
However, Obaseki is seen as having very little political experience and poor public relations and that the odds are stacked against him. His traducers point to the fact that he is publicity shy and anti-social.
A school of thought also allege the family name of Obaseki could work against him because he is likely not to get the support of the Oba of Benin, who is a powerful influencer in the political equation in the State as anybody he throws his weight behind is likely to be supported by his subjects and will likely win the election. There is a past history of animosity between the Benin royal family and that of the Obasekis. The Obasekis’ allegedly are not in the good books of the Oba of Benin because of the purported role his grandfather, Agho Obaseki played which led to the humiliation the people of Benin suffered in hands of the British in 1897 and the deportation of Oba Ovoranmwen to Calabar. His family name is also said not to be so popular in Benin kingdom. This situation could work to his disadvantage.
This notwithstanding, Governor Adams Oshiomhole is optimistic that his candidate will scale all the hurdles to win the governorship election. The governor described the primaries that produced Obaseki as the best ever organised by the party. He noted that the process was transparent, while the delegates were well behaved. This is why he is urging other members of the party to unite and work for its success in the coming election. He said all the aspirants belonged to one family and needed to work together to ensure victory at the polls. Oshiomhole, who described Obaseki as sound, said he was also at home with governance and will ready to hit the ground running.
On the other hand, his arch opponent is said to be enjoying the support of the royal family which implies that all the subjects of the Oba of Benin may likely heed any directive from him to vote for the Ize-Iyamu. Ize-Iyamu is not new to political battles. He has been at it right from the time he deployed his political brinkmanship in 2007 to oust the former incumbent governor of PDP, Oserheimen Osunborn and installed Oshiomhole as the governor in Edo State. He also did the same in 2012 to ensure victory for Oshiomhole after which the parted ways. He then left the Action Congress to join the Peoples Democratic Party. He demonstrated his political sagacity when he pulled victory for the PDP in 2015 against the incumbent governor of APC.
With the result of the 2015 election in mind, the PDP will be fighting hard to repeat the feat to prove that its victory last year was not a fluke and also to regain the state it lost in 2007. Ize-Iyamu was instrumental to the formation of Grace Group with the slogan “No Man Is God”, which later fussed with the then Advanced Congress of Democrats, Action Congress, which later became Action Congress of Nigeria, the platform on which Oshiomhole contested and won the governorship election.
When Ize-Iyamu left APC and went back to PDP, the party hierarchy, which hitherto did not want to see him because of the role he played in the 2007 governorship election, later accepted him as a force to reckon with to checkmate the influence of Oshiomhole-led APC in the state. That was why during the primaries, he was said to have been favoured by the PDP leaders who allegedly instructed delegates to ensure he won the primaries.
That alleged instruction was behind the anger of his other two contestants in the primaries. They saw it as a betrayal because, according to them, Ize-Iyamu, though a member of the party prior to 2007 general elections had left the party since and then only to re-appeared last year because he could not fulfil his governorship aspiration in APC.
Despite his popularity, Ize-Iyamu has odds that might hinder his governorship ambitions. As a former chief of staff and secretary to the government of Edo State during the administration of Lucky Igbinedion, he was widely believed to have grossly underperformed. Ize-Iyamu has a lot of explanations to make to convince the Edo electorate that he would be better than his former boss.
Besides, he would have a difficult time convincing the other aspirants, who are aggrieved, to work with him in the battle ahead. He is currently enmeshed in the controversy over a N700 million 2015 presidential election campaign fund that came to Edo State, which was allegedly signed by him. Severally, in the build up to the party primaries, he was allegedly invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission along with other leaders of the PDP in the state for explanations regarding the money.
Another odd against Ize-Iyamu and PDP in Edo State is that there is currently no clear-cut leadership of the party at the national level following the crisis that has engulf it. As it is, a faction of the gladiators in the war of attrition, ousted Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, national chairman of the party, and the newly appointed national caretaker committee chairman, Ahmed Makarfi, have vowed to fight to finish. Concerns are mounting over the effect the crisis will have on the party’s electoral fortune especially, during the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States.
Nonetheless, Obaseki is not exactly worried about the PDP’s affliction at the national level as he is convinced that it will soon be resolved. Moreso, the state branch of the party is solidly behind him. This is why he said in his victory speech that his triumph was a collective one which required cooperation of all party members to succeed. He noted that with the conclusion of the primaries a new phase that would define the future had commenced. He described other aspirants as accomplished people and urged them to continue to work for the party to ensure its success in the governorship election. He promised to build on the success recorded by the present administration.
But the crisis in his party could be an issue as the faction of the PDP-led by Modu Sheriff after the initial primaries that produced Ize-Iyamu also held another one which produced Matthew Iduoriyekwemwen as another candidate. Right now, the two factions of the PDP led by Markafi and Sheriff have submitted the names of the candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The two factions have also obtained court judgement validating their supremacy. That is why INEC said that it is studying all the court documents before making a statement as to who to announce as the PDP authentic candidate for the Edo governorship election.
But this development did not stop Ize-Iyamu, from flagging-off of his campaign on Monday, July 4. At the event, he resolved to stop the APC from having a third successive stint in the governorship of Edo. Ize-Iyamu, who expressed gratitude to God and PDP supporters, for the opportunity given to him to fly the ticket of the party, said the PDP was blessed with leaders who can change the fortune of the state.
He vowed that the PDP would reclaim the state from the APC, asserting that “I want to assure you people of Edo state that we shall assist and provide for the less privileged. We shall improve on your welfare, and we shall respect our traditional institutions as the custodians of our heritage.”
Tom Ikimi, a member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, during the campaign appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to allow a level playing field in the state during the election. He recalled that he was one of those who formed the APC in the country. “I will campaign with our candidate in the 192 wards of the state, and I appeal to Mr. President to provide a level playing field for this election because Godwin Obaseki (APC guber candidate) has no business in this state.” He also lambasted Oshiomhole’s administration on its policies, describing all the governor claims on performance as a sham.
Another PDP stalwart, Jerry Gana expressed optimism that Ize-Iyamu will bring victory for the PDP and urged the people of the state to support PDP come September 10. “This man will work well, this man will govern well, this man is a Godly man we must all support him,” Gana said.
Ize-Iyamu is already wining more supporters outside the PDP. The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, has adopted him, as its candidate for the governorship election in the state. Nosa Omorodion, state chairman PDM, said the decision was taken after the party assessed candidates of the two major political parties in the state, the APC and the PDP. He assured that the PDM would make its resources available for the actualisation of the gubernatorial ambition of Ize-Iyamu. According to him, PDM would urge other political parties in the state to give their support to him.
As it is, the battle for the soul of Edo has started in earnest. Most Edo people are anxiously waiting for the Election Day to choose between Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki who will pilot the affairs of the State for the next four years.
|
Tags:
