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Nigerians are watching developments in the ongoing campaigns for the governorship election in Edo State and hoping that the state is not thrown into an unnecessary political crisis. The two leading political gladiators and their parties are expected to maintain the peace so that the election will be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere
By Anayo Ezugwu
THE race to Denis Osadebe Avenue, the seat of power of Edo State, will be a collision between former allies turned political opponents. 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 the political gladiators in the state to gain the upper hand as the campaign for the September 19, governorship election gathers momentum.
The Edo gubernatorial election is a contest in which political juggernauts from all the political parties in the race is deploying their entire arsenal to truncate the ambition of their opponents. This has marshaled in accusations, counter-accusations, lies, half-truths and unrealistic political promises of turning Edo State into an Eldorado. But the question on the lips of the stakeholders in the state and across the country is: will Governor Godwin Obaseki win the re-election after falling out with his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Although the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced that 14 political parties will be contesting in the election, only the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the APC, are considered to be strong contenders. The two parties are not new to Edo politics mostly in recent times. For instance, in the 2016 governorship election, they were considered as the frontrunners, with APC winning the election.
The forthcoming election in the state is considered by many political commentators as a repeat of 2016 governorship election. The two parties have switched candidates with incumbent Governor Obaseki, who contested and won under APC in 2016, now the flag-bearer of the PDP, while Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, formerly of the PDP, is now the candidate of the APC.
From all indications, the election will be a close battle between Governor Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu. But many analysts believe that the governor appears to have the upper hand in the race because of the power of incumbency and his achievements in the last four years. It is believed in many quarters that the governor is likely to use the state resources to fund his re-election.
But the governor and his supporters are saying that the achievements of Obaseki-led administration in job creation for Edo youths is sufficient to guarantee his re-election. According to them, Obaseki promised to create 200,000 jobs in 2016 and as of 2019, the governor had created 157,000 jobs.
They stated that the Edo State Skills Development Agency has performed wonders in addressing poverty, hunger, unemployment, and criminality among the youths. Available statistics from the governor’s achievements factsheet has shown that the skill development agency has created direct and indirect jobs along with its different intervention areas, with 46,576 created through job tracking; 3,434 through job matching and placement, and 22,872 from the skills development and entrepreneurship programmes.
“There are 27,732 beneficiaries under the Edo Innovates; 1,376 at the Edo Food and Agriculture Cluster; 161 through the Edo Production Centre; 10,000 beneficiaries through the Ministry of Wealth Creation; 12,413 in the National Social Investment Programme; as well as 32,430 beneficiaries engaged through indirect jobs. This brought the total jobs created by the Edo State Government to 156,994,” it said.
Obaseki, a seasoned investment banker is also banking on other achievements recorded in education, healthcare, agriculture, security, infrastructure, industrialization and sports in the last four years. He also believed that his friendly disposition with the electorates, mostly the pensioners and civil servants would deflect political missiles that will come his way either from his fellow political gladiators or from the media.
Despite the achievements of Governor Obaseki, APC, with Ize-Iyamu as its flag-bearer, is no doubt, strong opposition to the governor’s re-election bid. Ize-Iyamu is a formidable politician with grassroots support. Some political watchers believe that APC and Ize-Iyamu have a big financial war-chest to challenge Obaseki and PDP.
The party is also banking on the federal might to win the upcoming governorship election. Even the formation of the National Campaign Council for the election shows that the party is really desperate to reclaim Edo State. Many are of the opinion that Ize-Iyamu’s political sagacity and popularity among the people will count for him during the election. But he really needs to prove to the electorates that he is not Oshiomhole’s stooge.
With Oshiomhole leading APC campaign and apologizing for supporting Governor Obaseki in 2016, some analysts are of the view that the party needs to convince some stakeholders in the state that the decision to disqualify the governor was in the general interest of the state. This is because there is still bickering in the Edo APC ranks as some chieftains of the party are still unhappy over the way and manner Oshiomhole pushed Obaseki out of the party. Some of them are believed to be supporting the governor openly while others are doing it secretly.
Apart from the chances of the candidates to win the election, the ongoing campaigns in the state have shown that there will be security crisis during and after the election. For instance, the campaign trails of the two contending parties have at one point in time attacked by hoodlums.
Following this security threat ahead of the election, Oba Ewuare II of Benin, has rebuked politicians in the state, particularly Governor Obaseki, and Ize-Iyamu, for the pre-election violence and belligerent electioneering utterances, threatening to tear the state apart.
The Benin monarch at the meeting initiated by him on Wednesday, September 2, said there were talks about the candidates of the two major parties arming thugs. He warned them to desist from the act and expressed worry about what the guns would be used for after the election.
Oba Ewuare II, who said he was worried about the violence across the state over the September 19 poll, stated that politicians must learn to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner, noting that election was not a do-or-die affair. He admonished the parties and politicians to note that they have only Edo State to call their own and must do everything possible to protect it from disintegration.
He said not only has the state been in the news for the wrong reasons, but that the governorship election has divided the people. “I have noted that Benin’s politics has been in the news for quite sometimes for all the wrong reasons. I have been having sleepless nights for some days. We are all from Edo State. We are no strangers.
“Why do you want lives to be lost by arming thugs, who will later hide the guns? Enough is enough. Let the September 19 governorship election in Edo State be peaceful. Be mature and be proud of Edo State. Do not make Edo State a laughing stock,” he said.
Likewise, Johnson Kokumo, commissioner of police in the state, has assured the people of adequate security, saying there’s no cause for alarm. He said maximum security would be provided before, during and after the gubernatorial election despite the seeming rising tension in the state.
He explained that adequate measures have been put in place to forestall violence and breakdown of law and order. The state Police boss said anyone found wanting, irrespective of position would be made to face the wrath of the law.
As it is, the epic battle for the soul of Edo State is ready to go down in history as one of the contentious governorship elections since the creation of the state. Be that as it may, Edo people are anxiously waiting for the Election Day to choose between Governor Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu, who will pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years.
– Sept. 4, 2020 @ 18:55 GMT |
Tags: APC in Epic Battle Edo Guber Race: PDP
