All eyes
are on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the party prepares for
the nomination of its candidate for the September19 Edo State governorship
poll. In the last few days, anxiety has heightened in the
opposition party over the nomination of the standard-bearer for the Edo
State gubernatorial poll, as interest groups scheme to gain the upper hand in the contest.
The
anxiety has been compounded by the overtures from Governor Godwin Obaseki who
has been disqualified by his party, APC, to seek re-election in the September
19 governorship election in the state.
Apparently, as a means of boosting the
conduct of a rancour-free primary and boost its chances in the
governorship poll, the leaders of the Edo PDP had said the governorship
seat would not be zoned to any particular part of the state.
The
implication is that aspirants from Edo South, Edo Central, and Edo North
are free to contest for the opposition party’s gubernatorial
ticket.
So far, three aspirants have been cleared to
participate in the gubernatorial primary scheduled for June 19 and 20. They are
Omeregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Gideon Ikhine, and four-time governorship aspirant,
Kenneth Imasuagbon. The trio were the only ones known to have obtained the PDP Expression of Interest and Nomination forms after
paying the prescribed sum of N22million.
Each of the three aspirants believes that they are
better placed to deliver Edo State to the PDP in the September 19 governorship
poll.
Ikhine, who hails from Edo Central, told
journalists in Abuja that the odds favoured him to win the governorship election,
once he clinches the opposition party nomination. The governorship
hopeful stated that coming from Edo Central, which is one of the
strong holds of the PDP in the state, he remains the man to beat.
He said: “as you know in Edo State in the last 12
years, we have been in the opposition. In the last election if you recall, we
fielded Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who was from Edo South and we lost that
election. Before that, we fielded another candidate from Edo South: that
was General Charles Airhiabvere, we lost that election.”
Ikhine
added that the scenario in the PDP presently is akin to what obtained
during the 2007 election , “when the chairman of the party was from the central
and also the governorship candidate then Senator Osariemen Osunbor was from the
central and those people won that election. “
He
added: “So, if you are a student of history you know when God wants to do his
things, His patterns are always right. God does not change
His pattern. He does them in the same way.
“So I
want to assure you by the special grace of God and by
hard work and the strong will he has put in me, the days of PDP being in
opposition in Edo State will be over this year.”
Similarly,
Ogbeide -Ihama, who represents Oredo Federal Constituency in the House of
Representatives believes that he is the man to lead Edo PDP to victory in the
September 19 governorship poll.
The
two-time federal lawmaker, in interaction with journalists, in
Abuja, after obtaining the nomination form, said in as much as all
the aspirants are qualified to lead Edo State, his antecedents stand him out as
the best man to be the PDP standard-bearer in the next governorship poll.
“I can
tell you that I stand out to be able to win the primary because I
have won elections before in the heart of Edo State. My
constituency is the capital of Edo State. It may interest you to know that in
the first election I won in 2015 was when Adams Oshiomhole was the governor of
the state and I was in opposition; my opponent was the sitting speaker (of the
state House of Assembly) from APC.
“ The
second one, the same thing the governor (Governor Godwin Obaseki) was
from my own constituency and from APC and I won again. Both elections with a double-digit lead and no court cases. So convincingly, the people of Edo
State and especially my constituency which is the heart of Edo State, they have
shown clearly that they have confidence in me and I have also been able to show
them that I can stand up and represent them,” Ogbeide-Ihama stated.
Fired
with this optimism, the aspirants have been up and about canvassing support and
wooing the delegates to support them win the PDP governorship ticket.
Obaseki waiting in the wings
However,
recent developments in the All Progressives Congress ( APC) seem to be
altering the equation in the PDP. In the aftermath of the disqualification of
Governor Godwin Obaseki from participating in the APC governorship
primary, the contest for the PDP gubernatorial ticket is beginning to
assume a new twist.
Obaseki,
who has had a running battle with political godfather and national chairman of
the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, was disqualified over alleged
discrepancies in his certificates.
Prior
to his disqualification, the Edo governor had opened a discussion with
the PDP on the possibility of contesting the forthcoming gubernatorial poll on
the platform of the opposition party.
However,
sources say that negotiation broke down over demand by Edo PDP leaders
for him to drop his deputy, Philip Shaibu. There were equally
speculations that the negotiations broke down because the PDP allegedly
made high financial demands from the Edo governor.
The
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, at a press briefing,
in Abuja, last week, denied knowledge of any talks between
the party leadership and Obaseki.
“I am
also not aware if we tried to convince Governor Obaseki to join the PDP. “Our
aspirants are working hard and penetrating the grassroots. They have moved into
all the electoral wards, sensitizing our members and voters and getting ready
for the election.
“While
our neighbours are quarreling over how to share the booty which they have been
looting in Edo State, our party is quietly working hard with Edo people to
rescue the state,” Ologbondiyan stated. He dismissed claims that the
opposition party made financial demands from the embattled governor.
According
to him, “ It is strange and totally misplaced for anybody to make such
allegation. I never sat in any meeting where such discussions allegedly took
place. The allegation is totally unfounded and it is unacceptable to us as a
party.”
Nevertheless,
since Obaseki’s disqualification from the APC governorship
primary, last Friday, there have been talks between him and some leaders
of the PDP on the possibility of his crossing over to the opposition party and
contesting the September 19 poll on its platform.
On
Monday, the Edo State governor formally announced his resignation from the APC,
fueling speculations that he may eventually berth in the PDP. The
day before, Obaseki had met with Governors Nyesom Wike and
Udom Emmanuel of Rivers and Akwa Ibom respectively, apparently to
facilitate his smooth entrance into the opposition party.
Analysts
say the planned defection of Obaseki will raise the stakes in the contest
for the PDP governorship ticket. Already, some leaders of the PDP are
reportedly making a strong case for Obaseki to be given the PDP ticket in
the event that he joins the party.
Expectedly,
the prospect of Obaseki coming into the opposition has unsettled some leaders
of the PDP in Edo, especially the governorship aspirants and their supporters.
Though
the party has closed the sale of nomination forms for gubernatorial primary,
party sources said that he would not foreclose the possibility of Obaseki
contesting the primary election should he eventually defect to the opposition
party.
The
PDP has a tradition of handing over its gubernatorial tickets to sitting
governors from other political parties, who join its fold, like was the
case with the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, who joined the
opposition party from the APC prior to the 2019 general election.
Inside
sources told our correspondent that all grey areas in the negotiation between
the Edo governor and the party leadership have been resolved.
Consequently, the National Working Committee (NWC), it was gathered, has
concluded plans to grant a waiver to Obaseki and his deputy to make them eligible
to fly the party’s flag in the governorship poll.
Section
50(4)of the PDP constitution( as amended in 2017) stipulates that “ there shall
be a minimum of one-month membership span for a member to be eligible to stand
for election into any public office, except the appropriate Executive Committee
gives a waiver or rules to the contrary.”
Therefore,
it is expected that once the Edo governor formally joins the PDP, the
leadership of the party will grant him a waiver, which will qualify him to
contest for the opposition party’s tickets. In the event of Obaseki joining the
PDP, either of the two scenarios is likely going to play out.
One,
the other aspirants will be prevailed upon to withdraw from the contest, to
pave way for the governor to clinch the ticket effortlessly. The other
scenario is a situation where all the aspirants will slug it out for the PDP
ticket in the primary scheduled for June 23 and 24.
Edo
State former commissioner for Information, Kassim Afegbua, told our
correspondent that in as much as Obaseki is free to join the PDP, things must
be done right.
Afegbua,
who is one of the supporters of Ogbeide-Ihama rules out the possibility of the
federal lawmaker withdrawing from the contest or stepping down for any other
aspirant.
“Honourable
Ogbeide-Ihama is very much in the race, he remains the man to beat both in the
primaries and in the election. He has a huge following, that is why we will not
trade off his aspiration to anybody, no matter the temptation.
“The
idea of Governor Obaseki crossing over to the PDP is still in the realm of
rumours, but if peradventure he decides to come in, he will be subjected to
the vagaries of the process. We at Ogbeide Ihama’s campaign group will not be
averse to anyone crossing over to support our aspiration, but we cannot
contemplate looking backward to cede the number one position which we presently
maintain to anyone, least of all a decampee,” Afegbua said.
He
added that “political parties are open to all, but political positions follow
certain procedures that are laid down in the party’s constitution and
other enabling laws. To contest for the gubernatorial position also requires
certain procedures that cannot be bent backward.”
As the
horse-trading and negotiations between the PDP and Edo State governor
continue, the challenge before the opposition party is how to manage the
entire nomination process transparently. Whether or not it succeeds in this
task will determine how far it can go in the September 19 polls.
The Sun reports
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