Pertinent Issues On Edo Governorship Poll

On Saturday September 21, Edo State voters will have another opportunity to elect their governor who would be sworn in into office on November 12 for a term of four years in the first instance. The campaign season is on, and the frontline candidates jostling for prominence are Dr. Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP); Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Olumide Akpata of the Labour party (LP).

The winner of the election will take the leadership baton from the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki, who has been in charge for two terms of eight years – first, on the platform of APC for his first term, and PDP for his second term.

So which of the three candidates has the capacity, competence, wide network, goodwill, global appeal and experience to build a first-world economy for Edo State? Who is the best fit for the job? Who can Edo people – both at home and in the diaspora – trust to lead them for the next four years?
Edo people who have been engaged in nuanced conversations on this matter, are very discerning and enlightened. I am confident they will make the right choice by voting for the candidate who will make their lives better.

Historically, Edo State has been under PDP leadership until Senator Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole became the governor as APC candidate in 2008 after a court process upheld his electoral victory. However, as Edo people cast their votes on September 21, they must look before they leap. They should shine their eyes!

I have monitored public speeches by the key political actors in all the parties. But I am worried about the egregious comments by Senator Adams Oshiomhole who, ordinarily, should be an elder statesman and leader from Edo State.

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Maybe he does not know, but Oshiomhole is undermining his own candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo. Comrade Oshiomhole keeps scoring own goals to the detriment of APC. He announced to the whole world that Dr. Ighodalo, candidate of the PDP, has no home in Ewohimi, his home town. That is a lie from the pit of hell.

He also said that Dr. Ighodalo refused to sleep in Ewohimi after a campaign stop because of “witches and wizards.” Isn’t that an outlandish statement from a political leader? What he tried to do was to de-market Dr. Ighodalo, denigrate Esan people in general and Ewohimi indigenes in particular. He should be told that such comments have political consequences.

In 24 years since 1999, the political leadership in Edo State had been shared between Edo North and Edo South regions. Oshiomhole (from the Edo North region) was governor for eight years while Edo South produced two governors (Lucky Igbinedion and Godwin Obaseki) for 16 years.

In their own wisdom, some of the political leaders believed that political power should shift to the Edo Central region in 2024. But Senator Oshiomhole spearheaded a campaign for Honourable Dennis Idahosa – his favourite from Edo South – to be the candidate of APC, thereby ignoring Esan people. But the plan backfired. Clearly, Oshiomhole did not support the idea initially for the Esan Central region to produce the next governor of Edo State. Esan people have not forgotten that slight.

It was the same tactic Comrade Oshiomhole deployed when he de-marketed Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in 2016 and subsequently presented him as the best man to be governor of Edo State in 2020. What changed after four years? Oshiomhole has still not been able to answer this question.

Pastor Ize-Iyamu, a great political strategist in his own right, lost on both counts. It is fair to concede that Oshiomhole backed Obaseki fully to become governor for his first term in office, but they fell apart and became adversaries.

Should the Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District be the one to tell the whole world that Betsy, the wife of Governor Obaseki, is childless?

That was another own goal by Oshiomhole as he mocked Betsy for being childless and not adopting children with her husband. Can you just imagine how a man who was a leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); former governor of Edo State and now serving senator would descend to the level of gutter politics. To prove what point?

Betsy did not mention anyone by name when she said Dr. Ighodalo, the PDP candidate, is the only one who has a wife. Betsy made the comment when she introduced Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, the wife of Dr. Ighodalo, during a campaign rally at Ubiaja.

At this rate, we do not even know who the APC governorship candidate is: Okpebholo or Oshiomhole?
Senator Oshiomhole has been pitching Senator Okpebholo to Edo people as the best man for the job of governor. Is he? I don’t think so. Nonetheless, I respect his rights to vie for any political office. Since Comrade Oshiomhole is more or less the face of his campaign, Senator Okpebholo would really have to work hard with less than three weeks to the election to convince Edo people to vote for him.

Edo people also want a strong leader that they can trust to build a vibrant economy. One way the local economy can grow is through destination marketing. For example, Wimbledon, Berlin Marathon, Rio Carnival, Dubai World Cup, Monaco Grand Prix, Paris-Dakar rally and the Lagos Marathon are globally recognised elements of destination marketing and city branding.

Braimah is a communications strategist . He can be reached at [email protected].