~ Liberty ‘Ruyi
While this piece isn’t intended to drum support for the aspirant, we owe it a duty as democrats to offer our sincere opinion arising from research understanding to guard our dear party the APC from possible pitfalls, particularly as it affects candidates’ comparative advantages across party lines. As usual, let me be blunt and straight forward in this short piece to accommodate hasty readers.
The years after the defunct ACN now APC took over Edo State, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have continued to maintain dominance in two of the three senatorial districts of the state; Edo South and Edo Central. The PDP have won all presidential elections in these two senatorial districts. They have continued to produce national assembly members from these senatorial districts as well.
Let me emphasize that the three metropolitan local government areas of Edo State; Oredo, Egor and Ikpoba-Okha are under the firm control of the PDP. Not only are those areas represented by PDP at the National Assembly, it was APC’s Achilles’ Hill in the last gubernatorial election, producing over 75 percent of figures that made the difference in favour of the PDP.
The irony in the series of contests in these areas is that APC either lacks innovative strategy to arrest its stagnancy or there is a calculated attempt beyond the political comprehension of common party members to keep the area with the PDP. It should be clear to APC leaders in Edo State that if we allow the PDP to retain all National Assembly seats in the Benin City metropolis covering Oredo, Egor and Ikpoba-Okha, the dream of saving Edo from the iron fist of Governor Godwin Obaseki will be over ahead of 2024.
Let me not pretend, APC may continue to lose Benin metropolis as the party care less about the why. I told a group of APC leaders three days before the 2020 guber election that APC will lose the election to Oredo, Egor and Ikpoba-Okha if nothing is done to savage it. That was it, and will also be in the 2023 election if the party refuse to gauge the views of the voting public in presenting a candidate and developing drastic measures for victory.
I am beginning to believe that there are some who wants Edo South to fail for obvious reasons. If not so, how could a serious party planning to fight PDP incumbent National Assembly members with possible support from the state executive be rumoured to have offered her ticket to a well respected but expectedly relaxed elder in his bedroom at the expense of a mobile youthful industrialist with deep connection to the street? Hopefully against a youthful and versatile Ogbeide-Ihama.
I can predict the APC fortunes in Edo South early enough with the Candidates that will be flying the ticket, but I only wish and pray that the party in Benin City employ the winning wisdom of those in the rural settlements like Orhionmwon, Ovia and Uhunmwode. This is the growth party men and women wants to see, not chronic failures that potends danger for the generality of party faithfuls ahead of 2024.