Osagie Otabor, Bénin
Will the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress go the way of the APC in Zamfara or Rivers State where the party fail to field candidates for elections? This is the question on the lips of many in Edo State owing to the lingering feud between the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and his political godson, Governor Godwin Obaseki. It appears like a fight to the finish as recent events indicate that both sides are not willing to yield ground.
Right now, it is a battle between the Edo Peoples Movement (EPM) and the Obaseki Shaibu Movement (OSM). The EPM comprises aggrieved members of the APC who have resolved that Obaseki must not get a second term ticket while the OSM holds the APC structure in the state and has begun rigorous campaigns to ensure Obaseki’s return for a second term.
Obaseki appears to have won the first round by securing the support of the legislative arm. His 10 loyal lawmakers who presented themselves for inauguration are attending plenary and making resolutions that are being signed into laws while others are still holed up in Abuja.
The battle has however shifted to who controls party delegates or take control of the APC in Edo State. One of the biggest mistakes Obaseki made, according to an APC chieftain, was to have ceded to Oshiomhole the position of the Chairman of the Edo APC Caucus. With that position, Oshiomhole was seen as the leader of the party while Obaseki, in line with his policy of separating politics from governance, faces the issues of governance.
Obaseki’s approach to governance was in direct opposite of what the party leaders were used to during the administration of Oshiomhole. The former governor barred politicians from coming to the Government House without invitation. Obaseki’s action alienated him from some party leaders who wanted things to continue the same way. Some leaders however keyed into Obaseki’s vision.
Oshiomhole, it was gathered, was responsible for settling political dispute as party leaders were always at his residence to complain about how they were being alienated by the government they put in place. When Charles Idahosa announced to the world that he was withdrawing participation in Edo APC activities, it was Oshiomhole that called for a truce between him and Governor Obaseki. Obaseki opted to refer political issues to Unit and Ward leaders of the party; an action many big wig politicians viewed as a ploy by Obaseki to retire them from politics.
Godfather, godson in battle of wits
Argument over who gets the party ticket ahead of the 2019 general election was seen as the cause of the dispute between Obaseki and Oshiomhole. The candidates Obaseki preferred were at variance with Oshiomhole’s choice. Hence the party primaries were cancelled. And the manner the House of Assembly candidates emerged worsened their relationship.
The emergence of the EPM, whose major objectives are to re-position the APC in the state and get a replacement for Obaseki created a further friction. Oshiomhole’s silence on the activities of EPM, perhaps, made Obaseki and his supporters finger him as their sponsor. The EPM became the ‘opposition’ to Governor Obaseki by listing perceived pitfalls of the administration such as non-opening of the new five star hospital built by Oshiomhole, alleged abandoning of the storm water project, shutting down of some Colleges of Education and Agriculture, giving appointments to unknown persons, awarding contracts to friends from outside the state and lack of political patronage.
Obaseki has since opened the hospital, continued work on the storm water project, inaugurated board members for some agencies and performed ground breaking for the building of a new College of Agriculture. However, the inauguration of nine lawmakers into the 7th Edo State House of Assembly where Hon Francis Okiye emerged as Speaker did not enjoy the support of Oshiomhole and the EPM. Other members-elect have since relocated to Abuja, which gave credence to suspicion that Oshiomhole is giving them oxygen to survive. Oshiomhole had insisted that the proper thing required of democratic principles and values upheld by the APC be done as regards the Edo Assembly, but to Obaseki, the Assembly is already in place.
As part of steps to seize the control of the party’s machinery, Governor Obaseki appointed three Special Advisers on Political Matters from each of the three senatorial districts. They are Hon. Osaigbovo Iyoha, former Speaker Kabiru Adjoto and Hon Ojo Asein. He also sacked all his special advisers, senior special assistants and special assistants. He also asked the chairmen in the 18 councils in the state to sack all their political appointees. The move, according to sources, was meant to flush out fifth columnists. Governor Obaseki, it was learnt, did not want to risk going into electoral battle with men loyal to Oshiomhole.
Apart from the sacking of political appointees, several councillors have also been suspended. Four council chairmen, Yakson Musa (Etsako West) Eghe Ogbemudia (Egor) Eghe Ogbemudia (Egor) Patrick Aguinede (Esan West) Alhaji Yakson Musa (Etsako West) and Alhaji Aremiyau Momoh (Etsako East) were recently suspended for alleged corruption and misappropriation of council funds. Last week, State Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lawrence Okah, was suspended. A party source said it was a ploy by the Obaseki camp to take full control of APC activities in Edo with a view to dislodging the EPM.
Obaseki is in charge, says Chief of Staff
Reacting to comments that Obaseki did not continue with Oshiomhole’s project, Chief of Staff to Governor Obaseki, Chief Taiwo Akerele, argued that Obaseki recently won the NUT award because he continued from where Oshiomhole stopped.
According to him, “the former government built structures but now we are building the human capacity in the school. We are training teachers. That was not the priority of the former government. It made sure the roofs were not leaking and made sure there are tables and chairs.
“We have to move and progress. We have to now train the human beings teaching the students, and we have committed huge resources into building the capacity of teachers. Some teachers, before now, could not read, but now we are teaching them the basic things. Is that not continuity in addition to the infrastructure element?”
“There is no ward where there is no SSA or SA. Every Ward in Edo State has an SÁ representing that Ward in Obaseki’s cabinet. In the previous government, it was not like that. The SA and SSA were not representing Wards. How democratic can a government be? We have commissioners representing all the local government areas.
“In the previous government, we had people who were appointed from outside the state and we helped them. But today, we have one or two persons then they said the governor has brought people from Lagos State. Who are the people from Lagos? In the previous government, we had commissioners who were not from Edo State. There are people from Edo State who are serving in other states. Did they pursue them because they are from Edo State? They are there and comfortable.
“The Governor is advancing democracy in Edo State. He is entrenching democratic principles and values. He is blending investment with politics and governance. They said continuity. There are certain things that were bad in the previous government that we cannot continue. The good ones we will continue. No matter what, nobody will live forever. They should leave the governor to work and allow him be the leader of the party in the state.
“The governor must be the leader of the party and nobody should wrestle that with him. We know how party structures are managed in Nigeria. Why will Edo State be different? There cannot be two captains in a ship.”
On whether the EPM has the capacity to stop Obaseki, Akerele said they lack the capacity and do not have the numbers.
He said: “It is not possible. They are not on ground. They are operating from outside the state. The Governor attended the State Executive Committee meeting at the party secretariat, where were they? They should have come to attend the meeting.
“There is no decision taken by this government that the party is not aware of. In the appointment of SÁs, SSAs, commissioners, the party was carried along. Which decision has the governor taken that the party was not carried along? I want to know.
“On the House of Assembly issue, the candidates that emerge did not come by fiat from the Governor. Some people had to step down. Those the governor genuinely wanted to go to the Assembly were made to step down. Jaycee Osamwonyi was the most popular candidate from Uhunmwode but he was asked to step down. The governor told him the leaders had another candidate. If the Governor wanted to be a dictator, he would take charge and not concede these decisions.
“He does not want to appropriate authority to himself. He wants the will of the people to prevail. He had come under pressure to be in charge of the party but he said no; that there is a party structure. There is a party caucus; let them take a decision. There is an Executive Working Committee, there are local government structures, let them take decision.
“It took me three weeks to analyse returns for the nomination of SSAs from all the wards and units. This is something the governor can sit in his office and appoint whoever he likes. He threw it at the party. We are doing board appointments now; I have the list of nominations signed by the Ward leaders. Where has the governor gone wrong? These are the questions I am asking.
“What is the basis of governance? Is it not about development and empowering the youths and improving the quality of life? The governor said let us industrialise this state. Let us have less people depending on government handout. The Governor is bringing in investors, but in the last six months, government has been distracted as a result of the inordinate ambition of a few people.
“I have opened a channel of communication to those on the other side and told them we should not destroy the house we have built. What has gone wrong that we cannot resolve? We are in APC. We are in charge of APC in Edo. We are in charge of the party structure. Those people making noise are not in charge of Edo APC.
“All that Obaseki is doing is in line with his manifesto to create 200,000 jobs and bring prosperity. This is what the party should be proud of. Why did the people vote out the PDP? Was it not because of corruption, poverty and other ailments the society has suffered for?
“And you found a governor who is here to actually sustain the narrative of change. He has carried out several reforms. Look at the civil service building we have built. There is taxation reform and so many other reforms. Look at the reform around youth engagement, agriculture and open governance.”
EPM will stop him —Convener
But one of the conveners of the EPM and former Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon Samson Osagie, said Obaseki would be shocked at the large number of EPM members in the state.
Osagie insisted that the EPM has the capacity to stop Obaseki, saying that the governor would only get re-elected if he had the support of the party.
He said: “The EPM is not a political party but members of APC. Obaseki does not have the 35 per cent of party members. We know he has patronage to dispense, but he will be shocked. Obaseki has not demonstrated good leadership. APC will stop him.
“He can claim to be on ground, but politics is not stock broking. He is busy issuing threat to all those opposed to him by saying he wants to demolish their property.
“He abandoned the storm water project for three years. That is a project he secured fund for and his company got commission. He should take responsibility for any bad policy of Oshiomhole. Today, Obaseki has not built any school. He wanted to enthrone a regime where nobody can talk to government. Rather than taking advantage of the criticism, he is taking offence.
“I can tell you that Obaseki abandoned critical policies of Oshiomhole. We will tell him that politics is not stockbroking.”
In one of his recent visits to the state, Oshiomhole told supporters of EPM, which he described as his infantry division, to spread the power of peace instead of war.
According to him, “if other people are beating the drums of war, we will be spreading the power of peace. In moments like this, it is not madness for madness. Many of you here, I see many of you in 2007. We deployed many of you to protect our vote. I used to call you my infantry division when we were in opposition. Now that the APC is at the federal we had to take it easy so that there is no breach of peace anywhere in our state.
“These people want to create what has not happened in Edo for a very long time. They want war, they want crisis and trouble, and they are boasting they want to crush. Let them go and buy a crushing machine.
“When I was preparing for 2012, some men wore red and went somewhere. They said I would not come back for a second term. I told our women to wear white the next day. The red they wore is their blood; the white they wore is our peace.
“Who will prevail? What God has willed, no man can change it. When God says yes, who can say no? Don’t let them draw you out of your bathroom and start running after them like mad men. We are not mad. The ‘roforofo’ they want, they don’t have the numbers. When you start lying, you have to lie continuously.
“But today is not a political day. Leave me with them. We will not condescend to their level. Don’t let them provoke you. Nigeria is a free country. There is freedom of expression. Nobody in Nigeria can harass you because your opinion does not coincide with his opinion.
“You were our infantry division. When we were in opposition, you were the ones that make it possible. I am happy. There is not one road that I did that has been washed away. If you drive on Akpakpava Road, on Siluko, on Second East Circular Road and Five Junction.
“I never threatened any of you. When I see you guys, what more do I need? I never said to you if you do not follow me, I will crush you. Did I send any of you to prison?
“If you do anything wrong, I will draw you near and say what you did was wrong. The tradition is that when you do something and your father is not happy, he will call you home and say what you did was wrong. He will not carry you and put in prison. He does not want his child to be called an ex-prisoner.
“The test of maturity of a father is to change the habit you are not happy with. It is not to show you are an angel.”
Pundits say the main election should not be Obaseki’s headache as the people are happy with his policy in terms of ensuring rule of law, abolition of CDAs and infrastructural development. Obaseki has equally said he is not leaving the APC as he is in charge. But Oshiomhole wields more influence within the party hierarchy, and that could determine whether Obaseki will get the party’s governorship ticket. Without the support of Oshiomhole, analysts say the EPM will have no teeth to bite.
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