The battle for the Denis Osadebe Avenue, the seat of power of Edo State, is gathering momentum. The September 19 governorship election is not for the faint-hearted as the political parties battle for the votes of Edo State people.
Although about 14 political parties are registered for the election, only the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, are considered to be strong contenders. The two parties are not a novice to Edo politics mostly in recent time. For instance, in 2016 governorship election, they were considered as the frontrunners, with APC winning the election.
The forthcoming election in the state is considered by many analysts as a repeat of 2016 governorship election. The two parties have switched candidates with incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki, who contested and won under APC in 2016, now the flag-bearer of the PDP. While Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, formerly of the PDP, is now the candidate of the APC. From all indications, it is too early to predict who will win the election between Governor Obaseki of the PDP and IzeIyamu of the APC.
But the governor appears to have the upper hand in the race because of power of incumbency. It is believed in many quarters that the governor is likely to use the state resources to support his reelection. But the governor and his supporters are saying that the achievements of Obasekiled administration in job creation for Edo youths are sufficient to guarantee his re-election.
According to them, Obaseki promised to create 200,000 jobs in 2016 and as of 2019, the governor had created 157,000 jobs.
They stated that the Edo State Skills Development Agency has done wonders in addressing poverty, hunger, unemployment, and criminality among youths. Available statistics from the governor’s achievements’ factsheet has shown that the skill development agency has created direct and indirect jobs along with its different intervention areas, with 46,576 created jobs through tracking; 3,434 through job matching and placement, and 22,872 from the skills development and entrepreneurship programmes.
“There are 27,732 beneficiaries under Edo Innovates; 1,376 at the Edo Food and Agriculture Cluster; 161 through the Edo Production Centre; 10,000 beneficiaries through the Ministry of Wealth Creation; 12,413 in the National Social Investment Programme; as well as 32,430 beneficiaries engaged through indirect jobs.
This brought the total jobs created by the Edo State Government to 156,994,” it said. Obaseki, a seasoned investment banker is also banking on other achievements recorded in education, healthcare, agriculture, security, infrastructure, industrialization and sports in the last four years.
He also believed that his friendly disposition with the electorates, mostly the pensioners and civil servants would help him deflect political missiles that will come his way either from his fellow political gladiators or from the media. Despite the achievements of Governor Obaseki, APC, with Ize-Iyamu as its flagbearer, is no doubt, a strong opposition to the governor’s re-election bid.
Ize-Iyamu is a formidable politician with grass-root supports. Some political watchers believed that APC and Ize-Iyamu have a big financial war-chest to challenge Obaseki and PDP. The party is also banking on the federalmight to win the upcoming governorship election.
Even the formation of the National Campaign Council for the election shows that the party really needs to reclaim Edo State. Many are of the opinion that Ize-Iyamu’s political sagacity and popularity among the people will count for him during the election.
But he really needs to prove to the electorates that he is not a stooge of Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the party. Again the party needs to convince some stakeholders in the state that the decision to disqualify Governor Obaseki was in the general interest of the state.
This is because there is still bickering in the Edo APC ranks as some chieftains of the party are still unhappy over the way and manner Oshiomhole pushed Governor Obaseki out of the party. Some of them are believed to be supporting the governor openly while others are doing it secretly.
But Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and chairman, National Campaign Council of APC for the Edo governorship election has said that the party would do everything possible to win the election. He said the campaign council is made of experienced politicians. According to Ganguje, APC understands the rigging tactics of the PDP. “First of all, seeing is believing, by looking at the composition of this Committee, you know that APC is ready for the election, you know that APC will make do everything possible to win this important election.
The reason why I am saying that you know the composition of this Committee we have old war veterans in politics who are ready to do the work and we have young people who are just coming out from elections and are ready to go back into the processes of electioneering again. “And we have all the horses that never missed their targets. So, we assure you, the composition of this campaign council is strong and we are ready to do the job.
The main purpose of this committee is to provide enabling environment for all our party men and even non-party men, members of the public to appreciate our party based on their conscience and based on their ideological belief that APC is the answer in Edo State. So, we assure you, we shall create an enabling environment for a peaceful election,” he said.
But the PDP said there will be no dollars available for Ganduje to loot in Edo State.
Kola Ologbondiyan, the spokesperson of the PDP, said in a statement that the Kano State Governor has no moral rectitude to speak on corruption.
“Apparently, Governor Ganduje and other APC leaders are so used to looting public treasuries that such is his first mental direction after his inauguration to lead the Edo governorship campaign. Governor Ganduje has further confirmed the real intention of the APC, which is to use their morally embattled candidate, Osagie IzeIyamu (of course, birds of the same feathers flock together) for their desperate effort to regain access to Edo state treasury, after Governor Godwin Obaseki liberated the state from the stranglehold of APC treasurylooting godfathers,” it said.
As it is, the battle for the soul of Edo State has started in earnest. Most Edo people are anxiously waiting for the Election Day to choose between Governor Obaseki and IzeIyamu who will pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years.
