The serialization of the Edo State gubernatorial aspirants and their chances in the Labour Party, LP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, have been dealt with in the previous series.
We are presently faced with those publicly showing interest in PDP. In a move to reconcile members of the Party recently, the National Working Committee had called for a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, which was well attended by some of the visibly known aspirants, signalling their readiness to contest in the primaries that will be conducted in February 2024.
The aspirants who were present were Mr Asue Ighodalo, Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Iyama, Hon. John Yakubu, Comrade Philip Shaibu and Hon. Felix Akhabue. However, Mr Asue Ighodalo stole the spotlight as he was the cynosure of all eyes.
This was no surprise as he is the most qualified and competent of all the aspirants present. His profile fits in strictly with who should govern Edo State in the 21st century. His exploits in the corporate world spill over the boundaries of Edo State, and the citizens are eager for him to come to the state to use his managerial skills to develop it.
No wonder he is nicknamed AI(Artificial Intelligence, taken from his initials) within and outside Edo State. But first, we must look at how the aspirants stand one after the other. Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama was a two-term House of Representative representing Oredo Federal Constituency, the first person to have broken that jinx of members being allowed only 4-year term.
He is young and loved within his small circle of supporters in Benin City. He was among the three aspirants who stepped down for Governor Godwin Obaseki during the 2020 gubernatorial election after much tussle. However, he has a flipside that might not warrant him the PDP ticket: his sense of entitlement to the PDP ticket since he stepped down for Obaseki is pitching him against some members of the party.
During the stakeholders meeting held in Abuja, while other aspirants were canvassing for a fair playing ground and reconciliation, he was reminding the members of the NWC of the agreement his team had with Obaseki’s team 4 years ago. The PDP ticket should be his preserve only since he was the leading aspirant in the 2020 race under PDP.
Secondly, apart from the attachment to this ‘homeboy syndrome’, little of his achievement in Oredo Federal Constituency is seen or even used as campaign materials where he held sway for eight years.
Again, he was among the leading members of the PDP who worked against the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on the basis that the ticket was supposed to come down South after eight years of President Buhari’s inglorious rule.
So, for him to come to Edo State and discard the zoning issue, which was based on the principles of justice, equity, and fairness, is not only an act of betrayal and inconsistency but an act lacking in the fundamental principles of truth. And on this basis, his chances are very slim outside his immediate circle.
Hon. John Yakubu has been a grassroots politician, and his track record can be attested to having held the position of council chairman.
However, just like Hon. Felix Akhabue, he is hampered by funds, and his reach is not beyond Uromi, his immediate constituency.
No doubt, Comrade Philip comes to the fray as a spoiler within PDP, nothing else. It will be easier for the camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for Philip to win any new election in Edo State.
He spent eight years in the House of Assembly with the help of Senator Oshiomole. He was then elected as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the good people of the Etsako Federal Constituency.
He was unanimously announced as the running mate to Governor Godwin Obaseki at the last 2016 Edo State gubernatorial election, and the duo eventually won the election. He was sworn in on 12 November 2016. Although on 16th June 2020, Shaibu resigned his membership from the APC, he has never ceased to show public disdain for the PDP, which he joined to run with Obaseki.
He has claimed in public that he was never really a party member but escorted Obaseki to the party because of the ticket. His chances of getting the PDP ticket are slim based on public perceptions.
Mr Asue Ighodalo is the aspirant who will give the party the only hope of winning the gubernatorial election next year, no doubt.
His competence and rich profile within the corporate world are without question, and the people of Edo State are eager for him to bring the experience to public service. He is a product of King’s College, Lagos. He obtained a B.Sc degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan in 1981, an LL.B from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1984) and a B.L from the Nigerian Law School, Lagos (1985) Asue from Okaigben, Ewohimi, Esan South East LG.
He is alongside Femi Olubanwo, a founding partner of the law firm of Banwo-and-Ighodalo. This corporate and commercial law practice specialises in advising major corporations on Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, Energy and Natural Resources, Mergers and acquisitions, Banking and securitisation and Project Finance.
He is the chairman of Sterling Bank, Director of NSIA – Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, and Chairman of NESG – Nigerian Economic Summit Group. Mr. Ighodalo’s core practice areas include Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, Energy, Natural Resources, Mergers, Acquisitions, Banking, Securitization and Project Finance. Ighodalo, in 2014, successfully advised Zenith Bank Plc in connection with a US$500 million Eurobond issuance and Diamond Bank Plc in connection with a US$200 million bond issuance, respectively.
He has presented several papers on capital markets issues both within and outside Nigeria and has authored many articles in leading law publications. He sometimes lectures on corporate governance, directors’ duties and responsibilities, and entrepreneurship at the Institute of Directors, Lagos Business School and FATE Foundation entrepreneurial training sessions, respectively.
Asue is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dangote Flour Mills Plc. He also sits on the boards of other public and private companies, Non-Governmental Organizations (“NGOs”) and a statutory body, including the Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) FATE Foundation (an NGO committed to the development of entrepreneurs in Nigeria) He is a member of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He is a past chairman of The NBA – Section on Business Law (NBA SBL).
He is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), USA, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, International Bar Association (IBA), Nigerian Maritime Law Association, Commercial Law & Taxation Committee of the Lagos Chamber Of Commerce & Industry, London School of Economics Lawyers’ Group and Associate Member Chartered Institute of Taxation.