The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State is at a crossroads following a split among key party stakeholders over the choice of running mate for the governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
It was learnt that a series of meetings by party leaders in the state over the matter have failed, promoting concerns about the party’s ability to meet the March 24 deadline for submission of names of candidates and their running mates as directed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It was gathered that the intervention of the presidency into the matter appears not to have yielded much result. A source told LEADERSHIP that the presidency was displeased with the way the APC national chairman, Abdulahi Ganduje handled the governorship primary election which created a crisis for the party.
Recall that Okpebholo emerged as a APC governorship candidate after a supplementary primary election was held. Two other persons, including Hon Dennis Idahosa, who was backed by former governor and APC national chairman, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, had claimed they won the primary election in the first conduct of the exercise.
It was however gathered yesterday that the presidency, in a bid to resolve the unfolding crisis, urged Oshiomhole to prevail on Idahosa to withdraw his case in court challenging the primary election just as he was permitted to produce Okpebholo running mate.
A source close to happenings in Abuja said “The presidency is not happy with what is happening in Edo State and it is also aware that if the party is not careful, its chances of winning the state back would be slim.
“It however told the leadership of the party that our leader, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole should be allowed to produce the running mate and Oshiomhole has zeroed on Idahosa as his choice,” a top party source told LEADERSHIP.
But party bigwigs, mostly aspirants from Edo South and some members of the State Working Committee (SWC), are opposed to Idahosa becoming the running mate and have threatened to pull out of the party.
Their opposition, it was gathered, was that Idahosa would be loyal to Oshiomhole as deputy governor rather than the governor. It was also learnt that the party leaders are bent on stopping Oshiomhole from taking over the control of the party.
Meanwhile, the report of a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama defecting from the PDP to the APC and becoming the deputy governor may have hit a dead end as neither Tinubu nor Oshiomhole bought into the idea.
This politically strange proposal is said to be pushed by a minister in the Tinubu cabinet from one of the South-South states.
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