By Dan Aibangbee
I believe that not a few persons will consider uncharitable the point I am about to make regarding the whipped up sentiment of giving automatic election tickets across board, to the 14 Edo APC House of Assembly Members-Elect, who have not been sworn in since election in 2019 – three years ago. Sadly they likely will never be sworn in until their unused mandate expires next year.
The point I want to make is that the Party is in a delicate position of rewarding these “heroes” for their sacrifice, even though opinion is divided on that, and contending with the reservation of the electorates in the respective constituencies of these valiant party men. While the Party may have the capacity to subjugate opposing views, it does not have such power to override the decision and determination of voters at the general election. And the objective of an election is to win votes.
There is a point of agreement between the APC and the Constituencies of the APC members elect. While the Party laments the loss of the representation of the APC at the State House of Assembly for four years, the constituents who voted for the 14 APC members lament the lack of representation for their constituencies, and the benefits that may have accrued from the representation.
There is however, a disagreement between the position of the party and the people about the justification for the loss. In sympathy with the unsworn lawmakers, the Party has maintained that they were not sworn in because they were not invited to the inaugural sitting where the officers of the House were elected. Their the claim that they were not invited to the inaugural sitting, given the manner of the night meeting, can be said to have been true. The big question, however is, was this sufficient excuse to have refused further invitation to be inaugurated?
It should be observed that one of the initial 15 broke ranks with the other obstinate members elect and went to be inaugurated by the Speaker, who then was Hon. Frank Okiye, saying that he responded to the call of his people. Today, he remains a member of the House.
It stands to reason that if the other 14 members elect had toed this line, there would not have been a question of any member not being inaugurated, and no constituency would have been left unrepresented.
The forgoing is the conclusion of the voters in the constituencies that have not been represented in the Edo State House of Assembly for about three years now. Expectedly, this will be the major point of interrogation of the 14 members elect who may want to seek re-election for the same unused mandate or one of a wider scope like the House of Representatives, which invariably includes the unrepresented constituency.
What answers do we have for the electorate who may see the action of the 14 members elect as sacrificing their collective mandate on the alter of personal ego?
It is said that for every action there is a consequence. What does this baggage portend for the APC in Edo State should the focus be on rewarding “loyalty” in spite of dreaded consequences?
It should be emphasized that party nomination is only a means to an end. As such, it should be applied with the consciousness of landing the expected end, which is winning an election.
As it were, it will not be easy to convince the electorate to vote for persons who abandoned their mandate – a situation that could have been avoided, as the inauguration of the one who broke ranks with them proves. So, what persuasive action plan does the APC have to win back the confidence of angry electorates, should the Party, against reasoning field the victim-offenders? This is one knotty issue that must be resolved before running around with sentimental arguments that will make APC tickets not worth the trip they want to take.