Let me first establish that before Obaseki there was PDP in Edo that fell in court into an opposition status in the state. Nonetheless, that PDP now famous as a faction of the today’s Edo PDP as the legacy group maintained an upper hand at national elections despite the APC holding sway in the state.
The Edo PDP under Chief Dan Orbih thought us to be resilient and sufficient in opposition in the state while bragging of our federal relevance with more Senators and House of Representatives Members, including winning Presidential elections for PDP in the state.
The admission of His Excellency Godwin Obaseki into our party was seen as a plus since he was coming in with government structure and state financing to strengthen the party. As predicted he won his second term with the combined effort of his men and the established legacy structure.
What was suppose to be a collective win for a political party, had the leader of the party in the person of the Governor drive a wedge to separate those who came with him after APC humiliated him from those they met in the party.
This division was seen in Obaseki’s arrangement of giving all government appointments to what he later tagged MY PEOPLE. From Deputy Governor, Secretary to State Government, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Special Advisers, Commissioners, Council Chairmen to the least Special Assistants.
This, everybody is aware is the major cause of the division in the Edo State Chapter of the PDP beyond the Governor’s tightfisted character and the patronage of strangers from Lagos with government businesses and contracts.
Now, he has forcefully imposed his friend from Lagos as PDP Governorship Candidate for the 2024 Edo governorship election. Eight of the ten who purchased nomination forms for the election but subdued are not happy with Obaseki and his Candidate neither are their leaders and numerous followers particularly of the legacy block.
On the other hand, as expected, Obaseki and Ighodalo are preaching reconciliation including Aziegbemi who betrayed those that made him State Chairman. While singing reconciliation from one side of the lip, they are singing Ogie as Deputy Governor from the other side of the lip.
Barr. Osarodion Ogie is the current SSG who defected along with Obaseki to the PDP in 2024. He wants to be Deputy Governor alongside Ighodalo who was singlehandedly picked by Obaseki as a godson. Is this proper?
Should Obaseki be plotting to completely eradicate us the legacy group from PDP by picking the Governorship and Deputy Governorship Candidate from among his former APC friends and still be talking reconciliation?
The stage is almost set, let them take it all if they wish and try their luck in the field, after all small money can be spread around from the unspent doubled federal allocation to win support particularly in this hard times. We’ve shouted enough, let’s wait if this one will be TORGBA by state force against a rutherless federal might. Let’s watch and see if Obaseki could go all out alone with him men to upturn the current reality of Edo PDP as demonstrated at the last general election where the party came a distant third.
■ Moses Obasuyi is a member of PDP, Egor Ward 2.
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