Is Obaseki Bragging About Cutting Oshiomhole, Orbih To Size?

Did Governor Godwin Obaseki say that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP does not need Etsako votes to win the forthcoming governorship election?

That is the brouhaha that has been spreading round political circles in Edo State since the governor went for 38-year-old Omobayo Godwins from Akoko Edo Local Government Area as his new deputy.

GWG.ng reports that the emergence of Godwins is being heralded with assertions that Governor Obaseki at a reception for the new deputy alleged that the PDP does not need Etsako to win the next election.

The assertion was said to have followed questions as to why the redoubtable Paschal Ugbomhe was dropped at the last minute for the position of deputy governor.

While it is yet to be confirmed if Governor Obaseki actually claimed that the PDP does not need Etsako votes to win, there is little doubt that he has exploited the ethnic divisions in Edo North to push forward his aspiration for the PDP in the September 2024 governorship election.

According to the alleged table talk from the reception for Godwins, Governor Obaseki was alleged to have said that Etsako already has the position of Senator and minister and should not have the position of deputy governor at the expense of Akoko Edo.

However, political actors in Edo State affirm that whether Obaseki said that the PDP does not need Etsako votes or not that he has been true to the reality that the PDP cannot easily win any ward in Etsako under the present realities.

With Shaibu, an Etsako as the deputy governor, it was difficult for the PDP as led by Obaseki to penetrate Etsako that has Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Chief Dan Orbih as political masters of the region.

While Oshiomhole and Orbih lead the APC and legacy PDP in the state, they have mastered the art of keeping their backyards away from outside poachers.

With the eventual removal of Shaibu as deputy governor it would not have made the case for the PDP any better.

By going across to another local government within the Senatorial Zone to pick a deputy governor in the Obidient and popular young Godwins in Akoko Edo, the PDP is bound to win sympathy votes from the area and perhaps from Owan area.

As His Royal Highness, the Imah of Somorika, Oba Sule Idaiye, said at the inauguration of the new deputy governor:

“In the history of Edo State, you have broken the record again with the choice of a Deputy Governor from Akoko-Edo. We are all celebrating today. This is the biggest position ever for the area.

“You are a magician. As to how you arrived at the 38 years old Omobayo Marvellous Godwins is surprising. The Deputy Governor is a machine, loved by the people, pleasing to our people. We thank you for what you have done for our people. We thank you for this great thing you have done for our people.”

Indeed, the prospects for the PDP have been worsened in Etsako which has half of the voting strength of Edo North. The optimism for the PDP is that the enthusiasm for the PDP in Akoko Edo will overcome the lethargy for the party in Etsako.

That hope will, however, be circumscribed by the larger fact that Oshiomhole and Orbih are the political leaders of the state with troops amassed across the different local government areas determined to avenge the ascendancy of a man that they at separate times helped to power.

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