Three aspirants are jostling for the Edo North senatorial ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). OSAGIE OTABOR writes on their strengths, weaknesses and other factors that will shape the poll.
Senator Obende Domingo represents Edo North Senatorial District in the Senate. His ambition to return to the Upper Chamber in 2015 is being threatened by political heavy weights eyeing his job.
The senatorial aspirants include the Secretary to Edo State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Major Francis Alimekhena and Hon, Abubakar Momoh, who is representing Estako Constituency in the House of Representatives.
The three contenders are from the three major tribes-Owan, Etunu and Estako- that make up the district. Estako has three local governments. Owan has two councils and Etunu has one local government.
Domingo hails from Igarra, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area. He was elected on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in 2011. He had wanted to contest for the seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007, but without success. The PDP leaders opted for Yisa Braimoh, who he later displaced three years ago.
What worked for Domingo was the agitation for the seat by the Etunu people, who complained that they had been marginalised by the two major tribes. They said that the seat was rotating between the Owans and Estako. Also, Governor Adams Oshiomhole supportedDomingo against another aspirant, Tunde Lakoju.
Ahead of 2015, Domingo is scheming to keep his job. He has debunked the allegation of non-performance. In a pamphlet being circulated in the district, the senator listed the projects he has attracted to the state. They include solar-powered street lights, distribution of empowerment materials, construction of classroom blocks, community centres and boreholes. His supporters are of the view that he deserves a second term like his predecessors.
But, can he beat Ihonvbere at the primaries? Following the declaration of interest by the political scientist, other aspirants have returned to the drawing board. Ihonvbere has made attempts twice to be the governor under the PDP. He served under President Olusegun Obasanjo as Special Adviser on Project Monitoring before returning to Edo to vie for the governorship, which he lost to Senator Oserheimen Osunbor in 2007. In 2011, he was among the aspirants that staged a walk-out during the PDP primaries. He later defected to the defunct ACN. Ihonvbere was appointed as the SSG when Oshiomhole was re-elected as the governor.
The eminent politician, Momoh, is not a push-over. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007. He was re- elected in 2011. He started his political career as a councillor. Later, he became the Chairman of Estako East Local Government. He was elected into the House of Assembly in 1999.
The retired soldier, Alimekhena, was a leader of the PDP before be defected to the ACN . He was a senatorial aspirant in 2011. But, luck did not smile on him.
Observers argue that the governor is a factor in the senatorial race. he is likely to determine who wins the ticket. Sources close to Oshiomole disclosed that he would not support any political neophyte. “The governor will not just support anybody he cannot trust, someone who will not perform. Those he helped in the past have disappointed him by not fullfilling their electoral promises. Some of them have not reported to their constituency since they were elected”, said an aide.
The zoning formula may also shape the exercise. The zoning agreement may heat up the primaries. Senator Kassim Oyofo from Estako was in the Senate between 1999 and 2007. He was succeeded by Braimoh from Owan, who served for four years before Domingo from Akoko-Edo took over.
The Owan people have argued that Domingo truncated the agreement by not allowing Braimoh to complete two terms. Their position now is that the position can be contested by all the ethnic groups. Some Estako youth have warned their elders against conceeding the slot to other tribes.
At a meeting convened by the APC Interim Deputy Chairman, Chief Usman Shagadi, Estako leaders adopted a resolution to support their son for the ticket. The leaders also agreed to sink their political differences.
Shagadi told the gathering that it would be an injustice for the Etsakos to be shut out of the race after conceding eight years to other zones in the spirit of oneness.
He described that the Edo North ticket for 2015 as the birthright of the Etsakos, urging the Owans and Akoko-Edos to reciprocate Etsako’s past gesture. He recalled that Estako conceded the slot to them without bitterness and acrimony in 2007 and 2011.
The leaders agreed to field a consensus candidate, promising to communicate the resolution to the governor.
Ihonvbere has also been endorsed by Owan, Etsako Central and East leader. But, he is being accused of riding to the Senate on the governor’s back.
However, Alimekhena is unperturbed. He said he has a high chance of clinching the ticket because he hails from Estako.
The Edo North ticket may slip from Domingo’s hand because he is from a minority ethnic group in the district. His critics have alleged that he has not lived up top expectation. But, his media aide, Balarabe Oshiafi, disagreed. He said: “The relationship among the people of Estako, Owan and Akoko-Edo and Governor Oshiomhole and Senator Domingo is as cordial. Domingo is a humble servant of the people, whose track record is well known and appreciated by the good people of Afemailand. Hence, they have asked him to return to the Senate in 2015”.
“It is expected that the enemies of progress will try to distract us, but Senator Domingo will continue to bring manifest development to all corners of Afemailand.”
Governor Oshiomhole hails from Estako. He is yet to declare his next political move. Whoever his ‘magic wand’ touches will get the ticket. But, the governor is interested in a performer.
