Edo poll: Is Obaseki anointed candidate?

As the succession battle rages in Edo State, many All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains want Governor Adams Oshiomhole and other party leaders to ensure a level-playing ground for aspirants warming up for the  governorship  primary. Osagie Otabor reports.

Godwin Obaseki

All is not well in the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Edo State, as the battle over who succeeds Governor Adams Oshiomhole gathers momentum. The party primary is imminent, but there are fears that the party might implode, if the rumpus caused by Governor Oshiomhole’s choice is not handled properly.

Oshiomhole is said to have penciled down the Chairman of his economic team, Godwin Obaseki, as his preferred successor and reportedly asked other aspirants, who are his loyalists to step down for him.

The other aspirants include: Deputy Governor Dr. Pius Odubu and Commissioner for Works, Osarodion Ogie; General Charles Airhiavbere; Chris Ogiemwonyi; Kenneth Imasuangbon; Chris Iyare; Don Pedro Obaseki; Blessing Agbomhere and Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor.

Top contenders for the race were Ogiemwonyi, Ogie and Odubu, until  Oshiomhole dropped the bombshell. Before now, Oshiomhole had announced at a colloquium in Benin City, the state capital, that somebody sitting in the hall was capable of achieving the set out agenda for his successor. Incidentally, when he was making the assertion, virtually all the aspirants were in the hall.

At the colloquium, Oshiomhole said Obaseki offered to serve without payment, but there are those who alleged that the amount he collects as commission from the loans sourced by the state is far more than that of officials on salary. It was also the first time Oshiomhole asked some of his cabinet members, including Ogie, Obaseki and Odubu, to speak on issues about his administration and post 2016. After the event, some APC members said they knew who the governor would pick as his successor.

It was learnt that Governor Oshiomhole told Ogie, at a meeting attended by the member representing Estako Federal Constituency, Hon. Philip Shaibu, to collapse his campaign structure and support Obaseki.

Oshiomhole was reported to have told them that his achievement, including the payment of salaries and project executions, despite cash crunch, was largely due to the advice offered by Obaseki. Ogie was said to have rejected the governor’s directive and insisted on stepping down for another aspirant, but not Obaseki.

A top APC source told our reporter that Ogie bluntly told the governor that he (Ogie) had been very loyal and focused on delivering the dreams of the governor.

Oshiomhole has told his loyalists to start marketing Obaseki, even though some said Obaseki was not a sellable material. The source said Oshiomhole would simply say, “Go and market him.”

The source said Oshiomhole has decided to use individual capacity to deliver rather than loyalty in seeking for a successor, should the move for Obaseki fail. Besides, Oshiomhole has reportedly told emissaries sent to lobby on behalf of some aspirants that the ticket was open to any contender and that he has only one vote.

Some analysts have said that Oshiomhole’s push for Obaseki, despite the stiff resistance from some members of his cabinet and party chieftains was because Oshiomhole believed he could repeat what he did in the 2011 general elections when he led vigorous campaigns that saw the elections of PDP defectors, Senator Ehigie Uzamere and Hon. Samson Osagie, despite reports of non-performance of Uzamere. Critics, however, said times have changed following the introduction of some policies, especially the property tax law, which they claim have reduced Oshiomhole’s popularity.

Besides the many battles fought by Oshiomhole, the push for Obaseki to pick the APC ticket to succee him would perhaps be Oshiomhole’s greatest battle. Sources said Oshiomhole has begun wooing party chieftains, but many are still refusing the candidacy of Obaseki.

Obaseki is rumoured to be favoured and backed by Alhaji Aliko Dangote. His emergence, according to his supporters, would lead to industrial boost  as many critical economic roads have been constructed. Critics, however, said not a single investment has been attracted to the state by Obaseki-led economic team. critics say he should have been simply called Economic Adviser to the governor, because the members of the economic Team that started off with the governor have since pulled out. They pointed at Shoprite Shopping Mall and Dangote Fertilizer plant have failed to materialise despite initial assurances by the government.

Several odds have been adduced why the choice of Obaseki is causing ripples in the APC and among the party chieftains. Obaseki, according to some APC chieftains, has no political structure on ground. He has always described himself as a technocrat in government and not a politician. In many political rallies, Obaseki was said not to have provided any funding for any group, nor was he physically present.

Another setback for Obaseki is that he is accused of not being a card-carrying member of the APC and has always travelled out of the state during elections. Some even alleged he does not possess a voter’s card in Edo State because they have never seen him vote in any of the elections in the state, the last being the general elections of April 2015.

Unlike other aspirants that have built political structures either through philanthropic gestures or funding party activities ahead of the party primaries, Obaseki since he joined the Oshiomhole’s administration appeared not keen on seeking elections as he hardly grants press interview or spoke on any issues concerning the APC.

Also, Bini leaders in Edo South senatorial district are insisting that the governor should not unilaterally chooses a candidate from the zone. The APC has not zoned the governorship slot to any zone, but it is believed that an aspirant from the Edo South may  likely emerge the party’s candidate because the Binis are rooting for a candidate  from their zone.

The lawmaker representing Egor Constituency in Edo State House of Assembly, Mr. Crosby Eribo, re-echoed the Bini leaders stand when he said that APC leaders, and not a particular leader, would endorse the candidate for the party.

He said: “Any attempt to impose a particular candidate was capable of creating crisis in the party which I am sure the governor will not want, as the leader of the party.

“I have heard people saying that the governor told them that Obaseki is the candidate. For me, that is not true because as the lawmaker representing Egor, the governor should have told me but he has not and that is why I don’t believe that story. The governor has been in the forefront of the fight against godfatherism in the state and thank God he has done it well and we are happy.

“He also believes in the mantra of let the people lead and that has changed the politics of Edo State. So, I don’t see the governor now coming to make himself another godfather by anointing somebody unknown to us. We have come to the level where we now have the opportunity to choose who we want.”

The ambition of a cousin of Obaseki, Don Pedro, has also caused division in the larger Obaseki family on who to support. Don Pedro has already received the blessings of his family and has insisted he would not step down for anybody.

Describing the governor’s alleged endorsement as a rumour, Don Pedro said Edo could not be excluded from the change mantra of the APC.

He said: “It is a rumour. This is not the time to be bothered about an indoor one-man endorsement. We have seen  and supported one-man one-vote. We should be working towards moving the state forward.

“I see myself as the Joshua that will take the state to the promised land. I have told my family members about my quest and they have asked me to go ahead.”

A top party official told our reporter that the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, is also not happy about the governor’s position that some aspirants should step down for Obaseki. According to him, Chief Odigie-Oyegun preferred a situation where every aspirant will be given opportunity to participate in a free and fair primaries.

It appears most Bini leaders are visiting the alleged sins of Obaseki’s  grand father, Agho Obaseki, against the Benin Monarchy during the reign of Oba Ovoranmen. Agho Obaseki was said to have collaborated with the colonial masters to suppress the Benin Monarchy and even wanted to become an Oba.

The youngest aspirant, Blessing Agbomhere, said Oshiomhole was ‘only testing the waters’ with his support for Obaseki.

Blessing, who spoke at the town hall meeting last week, noted that the people of state would decide who emerged as the next governor, adding that his team was carefully studying the APC constitution to ensure that the supremacy of the constitution is ensured during the party primaries.

His words: “Governor Oshiomhole is an individual. He can decide to support whomever he chooses. Remember in politics, there is deceit.

“A time will come when people will analyse the history, successes and failures of these aspirants. Obaseki is the biggest mistake Oshiomhole can make in Edo State.

“Oshiomhole is only testing the waters. He is not supporting Obaseki and he will not support Obaseki. Obaseki does not have the quality and qualifications to govern Edo State. Dangote cannot produce the governor of Edo State.

“As the chairman of Edo economic team, Obaseki was given the resources and the finances to bring investment to Edo State. He said he worked for Dangote and brought him to Edo State. They were given land and spent billions on it only to abandon it to the detriment of Edo people.”

Supporters of Obaseki’s aspiration are of the view that Oshiomhole would work hard to win more APC chieftains to support Obaseki. The supporters said the Benin monarch had long forgiven the Obasekis. They alluded to the fact that the Obaseki title was made hereditary and a former Chairman of the Nigeria Permier League, Oyuki Obaseki, was recently made a top Palace Chief.

Oshiomhole at a meeting with some traditional rulers said his choice of a successor must be someone who believes in the state as well as has the capacity to manage it.

According to Oshiomhole: “May God give us a governor that will put Edo people first; that will respect the traditional institution and  work for the unity of our people across the 192 wards.

“I think all of us must work together to ensure that we have a governor who, first and foremost, believes in  Benin, and who believes in the state, because if someone does not believe in the state, and he has power, he will help himself. Running a government is different from running a private enterprise. When you are running a government, you must have the interest of the people. The second is to have the capacity to manage finances prudently because you may wish to do your best, but you cannot give what you don’t have. If you don’t have the brain, if you don’t have the knowledge and you don’t have the capacity, you will not be able to do it. So, we need people who can apply resources creatively.”

A Senior Special Assistant on Media to Governor Oshiomhole, Nasamu Jacobs, said the economic team led by Obaseki had in the last seven years, worked tirelessly behind the scene for the rapid infrastructural resurgence in the state.

His words, “In the face of dwindling oil revenues, Godwin Obaseki and his team have had a herculean task in assisting the Comrade Governor focus emphasis on alternative sources of revenue which has in no small way stabilised the state economy.

“Edo people  must look at the contenders, sift the serious from the pretenders, shun sentimental and primodal interests and focus on the serious issues of passion for development and the ability and capacity to harness and utilise most creatively the resources available to the state. This is where Godwin Obaseki who has shared in the Comrade Governor’s vision and mission these past years stands the best chance in keeping hope alive that the legacies of the Oshiomhole administration of which he has been a significant part will be sustained.

“In our search,  therefore,  Edo people must look beyond those who have remained on the political dance stage for some time without any meaningul contribution to our march to progress and development.  We must search out the new breed leaders in the mould of Comrade Oshiomhole who have the qualities enunciated by him. All those jostling for the APC ticket are good people in their own right but we must pick the one who, after winning the election, will deliver the greatest good to the majority of Edo people. The Comrade Governor must lead while we the people follow in this ultimate search for a brand new and stainless governor for Edo State in 2016.”

Edo poll: Is Obaseki anointed candidate?