Dons Eze
WINNERS AND LOSERS OF EDO GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION
WINNERS
(1) Monday Okebholo: relatively unknown, somewhat demure and allegedly uncharismatic, he beat all odds and attacks over his alleged inability to speak English to take his message to the grassroots without a single media interview apart from a nine-minute interview he granted to Helen Oyibo of BBC.
(2) Osagie Ize-Iyamu: he was one of the earliest supporters of Monday Okpebholo and had stepped down from the race.
(3) Legacy PDP: they had felt sidelined by Obaseki and rightfully might have worked against their own party.
(4) Nyesom Wike: Governor Obaseki had publicly maliciously announced that Nyesom Wike would contest the PDP 2023 presidential ticket, and added a threat, “we shall see”. Obaseki had also taken out an advert to lambast Nyesom Wike after Wike had called on the PDP to discipline Philip Shaibu when Shaibu had threatened to leave the party because Shaibu felt the new PDP members were not integrated into the party. Wike had sarcastically asked Shaibu: “who is his father?”
In the advert Obaseki took to blast Wike, he said Edo State did not accept political bullies and overlords. When crises began in Edo PDP towards the 2024 Edo elections, Obaseki had clandestinely accused Wike and Dan Orbih of legacy PDP of supporting Shaibu to destablize Edo PDP. When Obaseki made overtures for reconciliation with Wike, Wike had told Obaseki he could not support Obaseki’s candidate as Obaseki was not known to be loyal to those who had supported him in the past.
(5) Adams Oshiomole: against advise, Adams Oshiomole foisted Obaseki on his team as his potential successor. Obaseki was Oshiomole’s bestman during his wedding to the Cape verdian model. WIthin two years, Obaseki started fighting Oshiomole, who is also a fighter. The genesis of their fight was Obaseki feeling powerless as chief executive of Edo state and Oshiomole controlling the strings, especially federal appoinbtments. Adams Oshiomole used his position as party chairman to deny Obaseki the APC ticket. Obaseki decamped to PDP along with Philip Shaibu. The PDP insisted Obaseki dropped Shaibu and allow them nominate a deputy to which Obaseki responded that if he didn’t run with his deputy, they could keep their ticket. He was allosed to run with Shaibu and with the support of Nyesom Wike, other Niger Delta Governos and the governor’s forum, he won the election. The APC Governors felt Adams Oshiomole was being too powerful as he almost humiliated their colleague, and this was one of the reasons they engineered his removal as APC national chairman. After the defeat, Adams Oshiomole licked his wounds and resurfaced against Obaseki in 2024 by taking a prominent role in Monday Okpebholo’s campaign, despite not supporting Okpebholo before the primaries.
Oshomole’d surely be smiling now that he has his pound of flesh against Obaseki.
(6) Philip Shaibu: He was hurriedly impeached by the Edo State House of Assembly and his replacement was announced and sworn in without due process. During his crises with Governor Obaseki intigated by Philip Shaibu’s decision to contest as Obaseki’s successor, Obaseki chased him out of his office within government house premises and bulldozed the fence of his residence. Obaseki also publicly rebuffed Shaibu’s advances in public twice. Shaibu went to court to challenge his impeachment and the court established that due process was not followed. With Shaibu’s reinstatement, he decamped to the APC and worked against the PDP candidate, perceived to be Obaseki’s pointman. Shaibu was seen in a video celebrating along with APC party stalwarts and attended theur campaign.
(7) 16 members of Edo State House of Assembly: they were denied taking their seats by Governor Obaseki over their alleged loyalty to Obaseki’s political foe, Adams Oshiomole. They’d be smiling that Obaseki’s candidate was defeated.
(8 ) APC National Chairman/APC: On 29th August, 2024, Umar Ganduje, the APC National Chairman had said that the APC would capture Edo state along with southeast states. Feelers from some quarters had said his position as party chair was being challenged. The Edo victory gives him bragging rights.
(9) President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: Some had argued that the Edo election results would be a litmus test of President Tinubu’s painful reforms acceptability. Now that the verdict is out, President Tinubu would heave a sigh of relief.
Honourable Mention:
(1) Dr Anugbum Omuoha, Edo State Resident Electoral Commission, Nyesom Wike’s cousin, who was called on to INEC by PDP to be removed. INEC refused.
(2) DIG Frank Mba: the police security coordination was superb as vote buyers were arrested. DIG Mba also got Obaseki removed from the INEC state headquarters.
LOSERS
(1) Prince Emmanuel Odigie: famous for the phrase “daughter of zion Ayo” he directed at one of the anchors of the Arise News Morning Show, he had accused Monday Okpebholo of being unable to copy WASSCE answers in a special miracle center. He also accused Okpebholo of lacking the mental capacity to function at the global stage. He mooted the idea that the election would be rigged in favour of APC while President Tinubu would be out of the country. He remained in APC, rejected his appointment in the APC gubernatorial campaign council and made several media appearances against the APC candidate.
(2) Rufai Oseni, Reuben Abati and Ayo Maero Ese of Arise News: The duo of Rufai Oseni and Ayo Maero Ese had gone on twitter to insist Monday Okpebholo must present himself for an interview in their studio. This was the same card played by Rufai Oseni and Nduka Obaigbena against Tinubu to attend their debate and interview, which did not force the APC candidate’s hand. Reuben Abati had said on their flagship Morning Show that they’d be willing to conduct the interview in pidgin or through an interpreter if Monday Okpebholo could not express himself in English language. Their permutations of controlling the tide in Edo elections have been punctured with APC’s win.
(3) Governor Godwin Obaseki: Asue Ighodalo had the election on a platter, but for Governor Godwin Obaseki. All the enemies Obaseki managed to acquire for himself managed to coalesce and fight Obaseki. They were not against Asue Ighodalo per se, but wanted to take their pound of flesh from Obaseki.
(4) Asue Ighodalo: Asue Ighodalo left the comfort of his successful corporate board memberships to serve his people. He was well liked and well positioned for the win. He was confident and ran a well oiled campaign. All was going well until Obaseki got too involved and made controversial statements that damaged Asue’s campaign. The threat of do or die and refusal to sign the peace accord did not behove well on Asue and Obaseki.
(5) Olumide Akpata: He was banking on the Peter Obi 2023 revolution which was not replicated in local elections.
Who we wanted to win at all costs:
The people of Edo State, and INEC. INEC needs to wake up. While polling unit results are being uploaded, also create a module in your collation software for results to be digitally entered, checked with the results sheets and create space to be ticked by the party agents and let the figures go to a central collation point. The media should be able to call election results based on these figures. This usual practice of talking results from wards to LGAS to the state collation centers is a Jega innovation. Ten years on, INEC is still doing things the old way.
