It is disappointing that immediately after the 2023 General elections, agitations and scrambling for the 2024 APC Governorship ticket seem to have begun. One could notice various groups and platforms from various divides in the state dedicated to the realization of the said struggle.
The dust generated by the 2023 General elections in the state does not appear to have properly settled before this unnecessary uproar.
The news is awash of various infractions that were perpetuated by members of other political parties, particularly the PDP, allegedly aided by the Governor, Godwin Obaseki that led to our Party’s, APC poor showing in the House of Assembly elections mainly in Edo south.
There is also widespread rumor that the governor is again planning a repeat of what befell the G-14 legislators by not swearing in the present House of Assembly members-elect. No one seem to care about the forthcoming bye elections in Edo south.
BIVAS that is said to have been by-passed that led to the party losing the two House of Assembly seats in Akoko-Edo is of no importance to those whose only party business now is who gets the Party ticket for next year election.
One would have thought that these intertwined and roundly connected issues should, for now, be our major preoccupation as party leaders. That is, how to retrieve our stolen House of Assembly mandates which is obvious in Edo South and in some other places,and ensuring that upon proclamation of the next House of Assembly that all the legislators are sworn in.
It is therefore worrisome that individuals have suddenly become locked down with who flies the Party flag in the next year gubernatorial election in the state. Whoever flies the flag would need the legislature for effective function of governance in the state when he wins the general election.
Also disturbing is that nobody is thinking of showcasing the scorecard of the last elections as justification to fly the party flag . How would one who lost his polling unit have the moral high ground to aspire as the governorship candidate of the party?
All the panderings for the 2024 Governorship ticket should be kept in abeyance for now, while all hands be on the deck to ensure that where the PDP rigged out APC in the last elections are brought to the surface and those mandates retrieved at the Election Tribunal. We must ensure the governor does not take us for a ride this time. All the House of Assembly members- elect must, as the constitution demands, be sworn in when the next legislative business in Edo state begins.