‘APC Cannot Win Edo Governorship Election Without Zoning’

A university don, Professor Bonaventure Osaghae, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot win the forthcoming Edo State governorship election if it ignores the zoning arrangement in the state.

In a statement he issued yesterday, the don told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that by the existing zoning formula, it was the turn of Edo Central to produce the next governor of the state.

He said that both Edo South, where he hails from has taken its turn in the person of Godwin Obaseki, who has been in office for two terms and Edo North, which produced Adams Oshiomhole for eight years.

Osaghae therefore appealed to Tinubu to be careful of the antics of some politicians, including Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who is allegedly supporting another Bini to succeed Obaseki in the next dispensation.

He further urged Tinubu not to accept the outcome of the primary conducted by Governor Hope Uzodinma because it did not reflect the consensus of the people and could destroy the APC in the state if the party leadership failed to listen to their position.

Osaghae, who earlier spoke with newsmen in Benin city, before issuing the statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Abuja, said it was “pertinent to educate President Tinubu that Edo State was sitting on a tripod guided by the principle of zoning across the three senatorial districts and in all the political parties.

“So, it was alarming that Comrade Oshiomhole who should know better was now the one forcing Honourable Dennis Idahosa of the same Edo South where the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki hails from on Edo people.”

Osaghae who is also a professor of political science at Igbinedion University, Okada, said, “The average Bini man does not like injustice and it is historical about the Binis. I am a full-fledged Bini man and what Senator Oshiomhole has just done will bring rancour to the body-politics of the state.”

“The candidate declared by Oshiomhole and Uzodinma did not win the primaries. This will definitely affect the fortunes of the party on election day if they continue with this charade. The spirit of the zoning which was discarded yesterday by the leadership is what is affecting the party today and it will continue if not attended.”

Last week, ahead of the September 2024 governorship election in the state, the APC organised its primaries with 12 aspirants on the ballot and three candidates emerging as winners. While Governor Hope Uzodinma announced Idahosa as the winner, the returning officer of the party declared Senator Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the primaries.

Another member of the House of Representatives from Edo North, Hon.  Anamero Dekeri, has also declared himself winner of the primaries. Party followers are however confused over the primaries which have produced three candidates, one from each senatorial district which critics believe was as a result of the zoning that was disregarded prior to the primaries.

The three candidates who have claimed victory in the exercise are all serving members of the National Assembly.