Much will still need to be heard from the Edo State chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC, as the race for the September gubernatorial election enters another stage: The contesting parties are at the stage of choosing their deputy governor candidates.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has settled for Osarodion Ogie Esq, the seemingly cool and consummate politician with years of experience, who will complement Dr Asue Ighodalo, a boardroom technocrat.
The combination has sent ripple reactions across the state. The first among the several hurdles the APC will need to scale is the litigation by Hon. Dennis Idahosa, which challenges the conduct of the second primary, which brought Senator Monday Okpebholo.
There is strength in his argument. According to his lawyers, the APC National Publicity Secretary said the process of the failed primary would continue, but an entirely new primary was conducted. This was in contradiction to what the National Working Committee also said. The party’s National Chairman, Senator Ganduje, had earlier congratulated Hon. Dennis. To contradict itself, the new committee that took over from Governor Hope Uzodinma announced that they were in Benin to conduct a fresh primary.
According to a party chieftain, “The party is in grave turmoil, and I don’t see any way out of it soon without high-profile reconciliation. We, the supporters of Senator Oshiomole, are very angry over the way he was humiliated. We will test the law on this matter.” There is serious friction between Senator Oshiomole’s camp and that of Pastor Izi-Iyamu, POI; they do not see eyeball-to-eyeball.
This acrimony existed even before the primary election, and it is getting deeper. Another brewing hurdle is the choice of Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama. Some critical stakeholders from both camps are against the choice of the former House of Representatives from Oredo Federal Constituency.
“We want to win an election but not with a newcomer who is still a card-carrying member of PDP, another party. We have enough experienced members in APC. Senator Monday was a former member of PDP, he will come to government with his supporters. Ihama is also a member of the PDP; he will come with his supporters from the party. We cannot open our eyes while PDP takes over the party we have suffered to build.
Both cannot recommend people they don’t know for appointments; they will always recommend their supporters. If we win the election, which room will be left for APC members? So, Ogbeide is going to be a difficult choice for us, let’s be honest. It’s easy to divine the trouble ahead beyond just winning the election.
Unfortunately, the attempt to nominate Hon. Ogbeide-Ihama has met with several other stumbling blocks. Recently, placard-carrying APC members protested, urging the party not to consider him for nomination. While some members have fingered Wike as the mastermind of the attempted political heist, he has since denied any involvement in Edo State politics because of his past experience.
Last, I have not heard of the issue of the nomination of the party’s deputy governorship candidate. The most recent rumour is that the president has rejected all other advances by others to present a candidate except Senator Oshiomole. It was said that Tinubu believes that since Oshiomole could not get his way with presenting his preferred candidate, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, he should be allowed to decide on the deputy to appease him.
Although political analysts have been dropping many names of his loyalists from Edo South, including Hon. Dennis, some stakeholders from the South seem to be against the idea. Some particular supporters loyal to POI are everywhere on social media, rejecting the idea.
They claim Oshiomole from Edo North cannot decide for them in Edo South on the nomination from their district. Today, the ‘I nor go gree’ attitude in APC has not made the party scale any of the numerous hurdles it faces. Whatever decision is taken in the party seems to be tearing it apart rather than uniting it.
While the forces of Oshiomole and POI are in a tug-of-war, the introduction of Ogbeide-Ihama into the fray because of his political weight in Oredo LGA has put more pressure on the crisis rocking the party ahead of the September election.
Oluwabamidele Elempe, Truth Live News Associate Editor and Columnist sent this piece from Abuja, FCT, Nigeria.