Intrigues As Obaseki, Edo PDP Leaders, Fight Over Council Election

The crisis in the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP was taking a fresh twist at the weekend after desperate efforts by the camp of Governor Godwin Obaseki to fast forward the Local Government council elections in the state.

GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the term of the former local government chairmen had expired more than two years ago and the state government had not minded running them using designated officials.

However, the permutation for the governor changed after his bid to harmonise the structures of the party and engraft his loyalists who came with him from the All Progressives Congress, APC into the PDP executive structre was robustly rebuffed by the old members of the PDP in the state.

Without grassroots loyalists and elections at hand, the situation had made the camp of the governor seemingly hollow and hence the move to conduct the Local Government elections.

It was in that bid that the state government rushed through an amendment to the Electoral Law for the conduct of the elections.

The government rushed the amendment to reduce the 150 days notice required of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, EDSIEC to notify the political parties and other stakeholders.

In its place, the government proposed a 15-day notice instead. The amendment was passed through by the House of Assembly comprising of 10 members.

The amendment of the law has also been another sore point with some stakeholders alleging that the amendment of the law did not meet the required quorum of the whole house.

GreenWhiteGreen GWG reports that the moves by the governor and his camp underline the supposed grip and grit of the Chief Dan Orbih led PDP tendency over the structure of the party in the state.

The present moves by the government to conduct the local government elections it is alleged is to help the governor gather momentum towards enthroning delegates that would help position the governor’s tendency in the primaries for the 2023 General Election.

But even the moves are shadowed in controversy.

That controversy deepened after the acting state publicity secretary, Dr Patrick Ojebobor issued a statement dissociating the party from what he described as illegal sale of forms for the election.

He said:

The attention of the State Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has been drawn to reports of illegal sale of forms for the planned local government election, scheduled to hold on April 19, 2022.

For the avoidance of doubt, the said forms are products of mischief and fraudsters, working to take advantage of our unsuspecting party members and aspirants.

Stakeholders are advised to please adhere to the Notice of Election as released by the State Organizing Secretary, Mr. Tony Anenih Jnr.

We have made report to relevant security agencies and request them to arrest all those involved in this criminal action.

However, the old PDP members allege that the notice of election supposedly issued by Tony Anenih Jnr was unsigned.

Indeed, the old PDP members allege that the Obaseki administration is wanting to set them aside in the bid to hold the Edo council election and are now firmly resisting him.

Nearly all the members of the state executive with the notable exception of the chairman, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi have been reportedly aligned towards Orbih, the leader they have associated with since his days as state chairman. Orbih is now the national vice-chairman of the party, South-South.

While it is alleged that the move by the governor is to enable him garner delegates, the way they are going about it is also raising suspicions especially among members of the old PDP.

The purported letter issued by Tony Anenih Jnr calling on members to buy forms for the election was said to have been unsigned.

Even more, old PDP members who are bent on upholding the constitution of the party affirm that it is illegal for messages concerning the party in relation to other bodies to be issued by anybody except the Secretary to the Party.

Meanwhile, Chief Dan Orbih who is the national vice-chairman, South-South and to whom the mainstream of the party in the state look up to for direction has yet to speak, but it is very clear that the old PDP members just as they spent eight years under Oshiomhole and most of the first term of Obaseki in the opposition now see themselves in the same condition.

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