New Intrigues Unfold As Candidates Begin To Emerge In Edo

The political firmament around Edo State was on Friday shaken after Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu formally withdrew from the contest for the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship ticket.

It is a significant development. Despite being a pastor, Ize-Iyamu has undoubtedly been among the most active political actors in Edo State in the Fourth Republic.

He has been directly involved in all the election cycles in the state since 1999.

In 1999 he was Chief Lucky Igbinedion’s campaign manager and went on to serve as Secretary to the State Government. In 2003 he again managed the campaign. In 2007 he was the coordinator of the rebel GRACE Group, the band of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP activists which fought the party from within.

Ize-Iyamu was the one who appointed his near relation, the late Prof Omo Omoruyi to manage Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s campaign on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. Though Omo-Omoruyi was the face of the campaign, Ize-Iyamu was the one pulling the strings behind the campaign.

In 2012, Ize-Iyamu, having formally left the PDP managed the campaign for Oshiomhole’s re-election.

At that point Ize-Iyamu who was a foundation member of the ACN had Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Mr Boss Mustapha among others as his confidants and had become the National Vice-Chairman of the party. However, with his eyes set on the gubernatorial stakes and sensing that Oshiomhole would not want him as a successor, he was wooed by the late Chief Anthony Anenih.

The PDP godfather needed somebody with a rugged political character to fight off Oshiomhole’s plot in 2016 to foist himself as the political leader in Edo State, and Ize-Iyamu despite his earlier rebellion fitted the bill.

It was an interesting thing at that time seeing Chief Anenih and Ize-Iyamu, the very ‘young man’ who led the rebellion against him both now plotting against Oshiomhole.

It was about the most hotly contested election in Edo State at that time. Oshiomhole’s candidate was Godwin Obaseki, the erstwhile discreet chairman of the Economic Team who had relocated from Lagos.

Indeed, even before Asiwaju Tinubu introduced corn as an expression in political campaign aerobics, Oshiomhole and Obaseki played it out on the streets of Benin when they were regularly seen eating roasted corn together to demonstrate the street popularity of his chosen successor.

Pushing Obaseki through was, however, not an easy sell. The election had to be postponed for inexplicable reasons to allow the APC to prepare better. Even at that, many allege that the APC running mate Comrade Philip Shaibu played a decisive role in the emergence of Obaseki on election night in 2016 when he bulldozed himself into the collation centre and the security men pushed away the agents of all the other political parties.

What happened that election night is perhaps one night that Shaibu will continue to ponder as Obaseki ignores him as he did this week in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

After his experience with Obaseki, Oshiomhole behaving like Anenih, sought out Ize-Iyamu to help him boot out a recalcitrant protegee in the 2020 election.

However, unlike 2016, the odds were even higher. Oshiomhole’s stint as national chairman of the APC had created many enemies for him to the extent that many APC governors were willing to sabotage their party in order to ensure that Oshiomhole was not rehabilitated.

Meanwhile, having earlier pushed out Obaseki from the APC, the incumbent Edo governor found habitation in the PDP.

It was a painful decision for many in the PDP to accept Obaseki.

Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, the former member of the House of Representatives who was in good position to win the PDP ticket was coaxed and begged to surrender his momentum to Governor Obaseki.

Chief Dan Orbih, the national vice-chairman of the PDP, South-South who thought that the PDP had a good chance to win the election was approached through the governors and turned into Obaseki’s campaign manager.

However, within two years, Obaseki just as he kicked at Oshiomhole, was kicking at Orbih and presiding over meetings of government officials to suspend him and Ogbeide-Ihama from the party.

Meanwhile, Ize-Iyamu’s political currency continued to depreciate as more and more of his protegees turned into men of their own.

As the 2024 election cycle approached, he did not have the kind of momentum he had in 2016 and 2020. However, he remained about the most potent political actor in the APC with the best prosect against any candidate from the PDP. However, for some inexplicable reason, it appeared that Oshiomhole who wooed him in 2016 was now against him.

Whatever, your correspondent understands that  the party leadership in Abuja following the powerful lobby of Esan leaders had decided to zone the APC ticket to Edo Central.

With a population of less than 20%, it would have been difficult for an Esan to emerge as candidate without zoning.

It is now generally said that the APC has decided on Senator Monday Okpebholo, a first time senator from Edo Central. Today’s primaries is as such, predictable and a formality.

The decision of the national leadership of the APC to zone the ticket to Edo Central was helped by the happenings in the PDP where Governor Obaseki had successfully pushed his man, Asue Ighodalo also from Edo Central as the only contestant. Though 10 persons bought the forms, only Ighodalo is now in the race in the PDP as the nine others have jointly petitioned against alleged irregularities.

With the development, the two major political parties, PDP and APC are now fielding candidates from Edo Central.

The third major party in the state, Labour Party is now the focus of Esan leaders with pressure on the party to also zone its ticket to Edo Central. It is going to be a difficult move despite the fact that the national chairman of the party, Julius Abure is from Edo Central. The huge investment made by Olumide Akpata in the party is one that will be difficult to rule him out. However, nothing is impossible.

If it happens, it will be the first time in Edo State that the major parties have successfully zoned the governorship ticket to a section of the state.

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