PDP, APC battle as race for Osadebe House hits up
Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are warming up for the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.
Though there are other candidates from various political parties, the race is expected to be fiercely contested between the APC and the PDP.
In the primaries held on Saturday, June18 and Monday, June 20 at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium by the APC and the PDP respectively, Obaseki emerged the candidate of the APC, while Pastor Ize-Iyamu emerged the candidate of the PDP. For those who had been following political events leading to the two primaries, Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu had already been tipped as the likely winners because the former was said to be the preferred candidate of Governor Adams Oshiomhole, while the latter was said to have received the backing of Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and other top PDP leaders.
Obaseki of the APC scored 1,618 votes to beat 11 other contestants in the race for the ticket. Ize-Iyamu of the PDP polled 584 votes to beat two other contestants. The two candidates emerged amid serious political contests and internal strife.
Two aspirants; Chief Chris Ogiemwonyi and Barrister Kenneth Imansuangbon, contested the process that led to the emergence of Obaseki as the APC governorship candidate before the appeal committee led by Opeyemi Bamidele.
The appeal committee which had promised to do a manual inspection and forensic analysis of the ballot papers used for the APC Governorship Primary Election, would submit its report this week after its failure to do so last Friday.
In the PDP, a faction of the party led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff declared last Monday’s governorship primary that produced Ize-Iyamu as illegal and the work of an illegal care-taker committee.
A statement co-signed by Sheriff and Wale Oladipo, former PDP National Secretary, urged the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to “give legitimacy to what happened in Edo”.
But despite this ongoing political firework, it seems the stage is already set for Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu to slug it out for the Osadebe House.
The task before the political parties according to political pundits now is how to sell their candidates to the electorate. The PDP ruled the state between 1999 and 2009 under former governor Lucky Igbenedion and former governor Osareme Osunbor, who was later sacked by the election tribunal, ushering in the APC government led by Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Observers are of the view that the performance of the two parties during their tenures would play a key role in who occupies the Osadebe House.
There is also the issue of godfatherism; the two candidates are hoping to coast to victory on the wings of their political god fathers, who in one way or the other helped in their emergence as flag bearers.
Till now, Obaseki has not been very visible in Edo State politics. He joined politics during the Governor Oshiomhole’s administration. He is the Chairman of the Edo State Government’s Economic and Strategy Team (EST), a position he has held since March 17, 2009. Though analysts say he is not grounded in politics, the state paraphernalia is there for him.
Some insist that since Obaseki is the anointed candidate of Oshiomhole, the governor will do everything within his power to ensure that Obaseki succeeds him. At an event recently, Oshiomhole said that Obaseki was the brain behind his success and the engine room of his administration and as such was not a novice in politics.
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu on his part was the Chief of Staff and later Secretary to Edo State Government under the administration of Chief Lucky Igbinedion. He is what many call a grass root politician. He was a member of the PDP but left in 2012 to join the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) after losing the party’s ticket to contest the 2012 governorship election to retired Gen. Charles Airhiavbere. IzeIyamu then became the campaign manager to the Governor Adams Oshiomhole in 2012 and Oshiomhole won the election.
Political analysts see IzeIyamu as a major facilitator in the victories of Lucky Igbinedion and Oshiomhole.
Ize-Iyamu has nursed the ambition to become the governor of Edo State for a while, a development that has caused him to abandon any party that denied him the opportunity. He left the APC in 2014 back to the PDP, and the movement from one party to another eventually paid off this time, as he picked the ticket of the PDP.
But some analysts believe that his connection to Lucky Igbenedion under whose administration he served as SSG may work against him due to what people perceive as poor performance of the administration. But Ize-Iyamu had always had one reply for those with that view, and that is, “he was not the driver”.
Speaking on the issue, a Civil Society Activist, David Ugolo, said his concern is not about which party wins but if the incoming administration will have impact on the people in the face of the challenge staring them.
“Well for the chances of the APC, Governor Adams Oshiomole has done well when you look at the situation we are coming from. At least you can see some infrastructure on ground and if you compare states with huge allocation to Edo whose allocation is small, you will agree that Oshiomhole has tried and this will definitely draw some level of support for the APC,” he said.
He said it was as a result of this that 12 aspirants contested the party’s ticket because there is that assumption that whoever picks the ticket will definitely win the election.
“But that does not mean that the PDP has no chance, it depends on how they are able to present their vision. But the way they conducted their primary shows that they have moved from a tradition of anointing and imposition and that has somehow raised their profile in the state. Based on performance, I would say the chances of the APC are high”, he said.
On his part, Muhammed Zibiri, a chieftain of the APC, said Obaseki is a product of a deep search for a candidate that “understands the dynamics of governance which will necessitate the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people”.
He said Obaseki has a track record of performance that is required to assure people and regain their confidence.
“Another major factor that would work for Obaseki is the fact that he is sponsored by a political party that has performed well in virtually all areas of governance. He is being sponsored by a party that has something to campaign with. This is the time the APC will show what it has done and present Godwin Obaseki as a candidate of continuity,’’ he said.
For Owere Dickson Imasogie, a member of the PDP, the emergence of Obaseki is a good omen for the PDP, because “he is not an acceptable and sellable candidate”.
“It was a big mistake and political miscalculation on the part of the APC. Obaseki does not know what politics is all about, hence we would easily overrun him,” he said.
“We were expecting grounded politicians like Pius Odubu, the deputy governor or Kenneth Immansuagbon, but to our greatest surprise they brought Obaseki. God has answered our prayers as Ize Iyamu will have a smooth sail”, he said.
A political analyst in the state who only gave his name as Anthony said ordinarily if the contest is between Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki, the former would out shine the latter “because he is a politician to the core”.
“This is a contest between political parties and not individuals, and the APC has the state machinery. If you judge the performance of the APC in the past eight years, it has done creditably well but if you look at the performance of the PDP in their eight years, it was poor. If performance is anything to go by, the chance of the APC is higher than that of the PDP,” he said.
The PDP ruled the state between 1999 and 2009 under former governor Lucky Igbenedion and former governor Osareme Osunbor, who was later sacked by the election tribunal, ushering in the APC government led by Governor Adams Oshiomhole