For September’s governorship election in Edo State, Godwin Obaseke and Osagie Ize-Iyamu have emerged the candidates of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, but there are fresh hurdles threatening their bids to succeed Governor Adams Oshiomhole, report Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan
THOUGH the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have concluded their primaries, leading to the emergence of Mr. Godwin Obaseki and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as their candidates respectively, the issues that have trailed the results of the primaries have thrown up fresh hurdles for the candidates.
Before last week, most observers had said the results of APC and PDP primaries will, to a very large extent, make it clearer who will be Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s successor. Of course, both Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu were amongst top contenders in their parties but reports after the primaries show that except something is done quickly to reconcile the opposing stakeholders in the parties, the candidates and the parties may have more troubles than they ever imagined in their bid to take over Edo State Government House from the Comrade governor.
In the PDP, the trouble preceded the primaries. For example, before the primaries, the Director General of the PDP Governors Forum, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, who was touted as an aspirant in Edo 2016 though he did not actually buy the nomination form of the party, shocked observers when he suddenly resigned his position, dumped PDP and pitched camp with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Onaiwu had explained that he took the decision in order to pursue his future ambition.
Part of the letter reads: “Unto every time there is a season, and in line with this Biblical truth, I wish to inform His Excellency of my resignation, effective, June 21, 2016 as the Director General of the PDP Governors Forum.
“I am persuaded to call it quits in order to pursue my future endeavour in other capacity. During my years as DG of the Forum, I am consoled by the fact that my loyalty, competence and service were at no time in doubt, therefore will be leaving with gratitude. I wish to thank His Excellency and all his brother governors, present and former, for their support during my term as DG and wish the Forum the best.”
He told journalists that he was still contesting the governorship election “But I am going to fly the flag of the APGA in Edo State”.
In the ruling party, APC, where aspirants had consistently alleged Governor Oshiomhole’s endorsement of Obaseke, there was fear, long before the primaries that if Obaseke wins, the other aspirants may not only protest the result but may go ahead to fight against the party. As it turns out, Obaseke won and the other aspirants have alleged rigging and manipulation. Chris Ogiemwonyi and Kenneth Imansuagbon for example have called for a forensic analysis of the voting materials used for the primary, alleging that the votes were cloned.
While Ogiemwonyi accused the Masari-led Committee of deploying cloned ballot papers used for the conduct of the primary, Imansuagbon has said the primary election must be cancelled if the APC is truly committed to winning the general election.
According to him, talks about post-primary reconciliation is an exercise in futility as the only option is for the party to reverse the governorship primary.
“We are not interested in reconciliation. We are approaching the Hon. Bamidele Appeal Committee. We are praying them to cancel the election and do a fresh primary. If they don’t do it, what will happen to the APC will be disastrous. If the appeal does not take our plea, then we will take our protest to the court of the people,” he said.
He also said, “When Anenih rigged me out in the Peoples Democratic Party, I told him he would loss and the party lost. So, the Bamidele Committee should cancel the election on the grounds of immorality.”
He added, “It was scientifically and electronically manipulated. Watermark technology was used to manipulate the election. You will not see it during the day. You will only see evaporated ink that will vanish in two minutes.
“One should ask why, despite the fact that accreditation finished around 2pm, voting was delayed till around 7pm. Under the floodlight they had allocated the votes to Obaseki.”
Since then, we gathered that moves have been made to reconcile the stakeholders in the party to enable the ruling APC to contest as a united force.
Though the state party chairman, Anselm Ojezua, in a statement said a Reconciliation Committee chaired by a Board of Trustees member, Prince Malik Afegbua, was set up soon after the primaries to reconcile aggrieved members, there were indications that the committee may not have achieved speedy results.
Other members of the committee are former deputy governor, Lucky Imasuen, Austin Omofuma, Charles Idahosa, Theophilus Okoh, Senator Domingo Obende and Lawrence Okah. A source however said not much progress had been recorded by this committee as at Thursday morning.
Towards the end of the week however, there were feelers that President Muhammadu Buhari may intervened directly in the crisis.
The Nation reported on Friday that the President asked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to meet with all the aspirants in the last governorship primaries and other stakeholders within 24 hours.
It would be recalled that the two aggrieved aspirants after the primaries, Ogiemwonyi and Imansuagbon, who took the matter to the Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele-led Appeal Committee, have threatened to drag the party to court or work against it if the committee and the party fail to nullify the primary.
As at the time of filing this report, it was not yet certain what the outcome of the appeal would be but Bamidele had said the committee was compiling its recommendations, adding that all the stakeholders invited met with the committee members and made oral presentations of the primaries.
How far this will go in resolving the matter remains to be seen.
Ize-Iyamu’s many headaches
Even as his supporters continue to celebrate his emergence as the winner of last week’s PDP’s governorship primary election, the camp of Pastor Ize-Iyamu had a serious doubt cast on his going all the way to contest the general election, when early in the week, one of the claimants to the office of the National Chairman of PDP, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, said his emergence as the party’s flag-bearer is illegal.
According to Sheriff, because the primary election purportedly held in the Edo State chapter of his party didn’t have his blessing and that of his executives, it should best be taken that the PDP, as led by him, is yet to conduct gubernatorial primary election in Edo State. He is, therefore, set to conduct a fresh exercise.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), signed by him and his faction’s National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo, Sheriff urged the electoral body not to give legitimacy to the exercise as, according to him, it was a product of an illegal caretaker committee.
In another statement, the Sheriff’s group released a scheduled congress in Edo State to end on June 29, with the inauguration of congress committee scheduled for last Wednesday. Sheriff warned state chairmen and officers of the party to desist from meeting or having anything to do with the “illegal” caretaker committee and warned that anybody dealing with them is on his own.
Reliable party sources in Benin-City told The Nation that the Sheriff’s group is desperately reaching out to some party chieftains in the state, especially aspirants who contested and lost the last PDP governorship primary election in the state, to dump the Makarfi camp and seek the party’s ticket at the planned fresh primary election to be conducted tomorrow.
“We fear that serious confusion is imminent in the PDP here in Edo State. At a time when we should be plotting how to confront the ruling APC, a faction of the party has rejected the primary election held last week and is planning to conduct a fresh one.
In a bid to tear the party apart, they are now wooing some of the gubernatorial aspirants of the party who participated in the last primary election, especially Iyobosa Edebiri and Mathew Iduiyikemwen, to contest in their own primary. Should this happen, Edo PDP will be much divided against itself,” our source said.
The Nation also learnt that, aside from the threat posed by Sheriff’s plan to conduct another primary election, the camp of Ize-Iyamu is also worried about the likely reaction of INEC to the new development. Such is the anxiety that the group is said to be reaching out to Sheriff and his co-travelers for a truce.
“We are just hoping that this new development will not confuse INEC the more. Already, the commission has been making some funny statements over the state of things in our party. You will recall that it is yet to say categorically which of the two factions it will relate with. Given that one of the factions must submit the candidate’s name to INEC, we are worried.
There are so many court cases undecided and nobody can say when the judgement will start rolling in. This is why our candidate and his team are of the opinion that a truce with all warring factions is the best approach. If we have our way, I promise you there will be no fresh primary election in Edo PDP,” a party chieftain told The Nation.
The PDP candidate, Ize-Iyamu, is also struggling to shave off fears over his eligibility following allegations of his alleged involvement in the $155 million Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke campaign money scandal. Ize-Iyamu, according to reports, is undergoing investigation in connection with the alleged slush fund.
He was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as part of investigation into how the money was shared by some PDP leaders. Although he was interrogated and released by the anti-graft commission, there are allegations in some quarters within the PDP that he may turn out to be a problem for the party if more damaging revelations are made about the scandal.
“We hope our party had not knowingly played into the hands of Oshiomhole and the ruling APC with the election of Ize-Iyamu as our candidate. Knowing the ruling party, I can bet that they throw up this issue of his invitation by the EFCC when the campaign starts. I fear they may even use the EFCC to dig up salacious details of his alleged role in the scandal.
It is also not impossible that the opponent will ensure he is detained as the election approaches. If this occurs, what will happen to the chances of the PDP in the general election? Many of us are sincerely of the opinion that now that we can still correct our mistake, it is better for us to do so. A man with so many battles on his hands is not the best we can throw into the race,” our source said.
With so much to worry about so early in the race to Government House, pundits are of the opinion that it will not be an easy contest for Ize-Iyamu and his party against Governor Oshiomhole’s APC and its candidate, Godwin Obaseki.
