From Tony Osauzo, Benin
ALL is now set for “real politics” in Edo State with the emergence of governorship candidates for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
While the APC has nominated a technocrat, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, chair- man of Governor Oshiomhole’s Economic Team, as its candidate, the PDP has picked Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a former Secretary to Edo State Government, as its flag bearer for the election.
In the estimation of critical observers, while the APC which has been in power for the past seven and half years may want to consolidate by striving to win the election, the PDP which previously ruled the state for nearly 10 years and now hungry for power, would try everything humanly possible to try and reclaim the plum position.
So, the stage is set for the two major parties in the state and expectedly, they would put all their electoral arsenal at work for the September 10 duel.
The calculation is that the PDP candidate, Pastor Ize-Iyamu, having served as Director-General for Oshiomhole Campaign Organisation during his second term bid for the governorship seat, understands the workings of both the APC and the PDP. Analysts believe that he would put his wealth of experience to use during the electioneering process.
On the other hand, a school of thought believes that the APC which has been in power and also controls the centre would seek to up its game by hinging its campaign on Governor Oshiomhole’s performance in office.
Considering the nature of the nation’s politics, some are tempted to believe that the party may benefit from its control of the government at the centre. There are those who argue that the Binis had in the past lamented that they were excluded from national patronage as a result of the state being in the opposition party.
There is the sentiment in some quarters that now that the APC is controlling the central government at Abuja and with the party headed by a Bini son, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, as its chairman, it would serve the interest of the people better to flow with the APC.
But whatever argument observers put up, many believe that the two main parties in the forthcoming election, the APC and the PDP, would have a lot of is- sues to campaign with, but ultimately, the fate of the candidates will be decided by the electorate.
Crisis rocks APC as Appeal Committee summons Masari, others
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
THE last may not have been heard about the recently concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries as some of the aspirants have petitioned the leadership of the ruling party, complaining of perceived irregularities and manipulation of the election.
The chairman of the primary election Appeal Committee, Opeyemi Bamidele, who confirmed the receipt of the petitions from the aspirants that lost in the exercise, said that all the stakeholders involved in the conduct of the election including the chairman and governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Maigari would be summoned.
According to him: “We confirmed as a committee that we have received two petitions and the National Chairman of the party was also copied and the party has given us the go ahead and a freehand to conduct our sittings. We also have gotten in touch with the two aspirants who sent in their petitions to explain the position.”
“During our sitting and by the grace of God, both of them would also be appearing before us on Wednesday, and definitely, all issues raised in their petitions would be addressed; you know there is really nothing to be agitated about.
“You know, it is also normal for people to feel aggrieved and they should follow the due process and the party made the arrangement for the process for the appeal and they are availing themselves that opportunity. We will also ensure that promptly, the issue are dealt with,” he noted. On the subject of the petition, Opeyemi said: “Well, nothing fundamentally different from the issues they raised at the press conferences that they addressed. You know they were talking of perceived irregularities; they are talking about possible manipulation of the electoral processes. I mean, they themselves have put everything in the public domain. “As a matter of fact, the press conference had been addressed before we even received copies of their petitions. So and like I said, the issues they raised in the petition are not substantially different like the ones that they have laid before the media and, which are already in the public domain.
“What is important is that we will be inviting them to come and try to substantiate the allegation and to pro- vide details of the fact. We will also be inviting other relevant stakeholders from the National Secretariat of the party and from all the other stakeholders who participated in the process of the primaries so that at the end of the day, we will be in a position to write a balanced report,” he said.
The former Commissioner in Lagos State also spoke on the possibility of inviting the chairman of the elec- tion primary Committee, stressing: “Definitely, these are issues of detail that we will also make available on Wednesday as we commence our sit- ting. As you can see, we have been here for a while, we will also go to continue our preliminary discussion.
“Some of the people that would appear, we have already contacted them and the ones that we need the support of the party to also get in touch with, we have discussed extensively with the National Organising Secretary of the party on behalf of the National Working Committee of the party and the party would also activate the machinery of trying to invite everybody.
“Be rest assured that all relevant stakeholders would be contacted to appear to shed more light,” he noted.
Ize-Iyamu laments state of education in Edo
THE Edo State governorship candidate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, yesterday said education should be a priority in the state.
He said that any reasonable and people-centred government should as matter of dire necessity, put education- al development as number one priority and the bedrock of any development.
In a statement by the media Unit of his Campaign Organisation, the former Secretary to Edo State Government made the remarks yesterday while delivering a public lecture entitled, ‘’ State Of Education In Edo State: The Way Forward’’, at the University of Benin.
‘’Every society is as developed as its educational programme; the difference between the developed and undeveloped countries is no other than education. Any reasonable and people centred government should as matter of dire necessity, put educational development as priority number one’’, he said. Paying tribute to Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, late Professor Ambrose Ali,his father, Chief Osayande Ize-Iyamu and others for their roles in developing education in the old Bendel State, the governorship hopeful described their period as the ‘’golden era of education’’ in the state.
He said many were not surprised that the products of that educational system dominated the public services, political, academic, corporate, legal, medical, military and paramilitary landscape of Nigeria for a very long time.
Picking hole in Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s education policy, Ize-Iyamu, a lawyer said the administration’s effort on education has been centred ‘’largely, if not exclusively’’, on re-roofing some selected urban and sub-urban schools for political sloganeering and propaganda.
‘’The aluminum red roofs for these schools is not bad, but it is good to put the effort into a correct trajectory in the sense that it is State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) money and a joint effort of the federal and the state governments where the former pays the lion share of the money’’, he stated.
Obaseki tasks INEC, electorate on voter registration
AS the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) kick-starts the voter registration exercise tomorrow in Edo State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the forth-coming election, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has again renewed his call on well-meaning and patriotic people in the state to participate fully in the exercise.
He said it is the only weapon that would qualify them to vote at the general election, explaining that the registration exercise is a call to duty and it behoves on all of us to answer this clarion call.
Obaseki who spoke in a statement issued by his media aide, Benjamin Atu said ‘the survival of democracy and growth of Edo State depends on each individual being able to express his or herself by voting.
He said: “No doubt, your vote is your right but if you do not register, you are not only denying yourself the right to vote but also denying yourself the opportunity to determine the leader of your choice”.
The APC flag bearer who also tasked INEC to ensure a hitch-free exercise appealed to them to avoid the usual logistics problem of fuel, lack of ink in the printer, Laptop failure, and other excuses which may affect the number of voters that would be registered on a daily basis. The time, he said is short and effort must be made to ensure that people are not stranded due to failure or shortage of working tools. He called on the print, electronic, and social media, religious organizations, various women and youth groups, traditional institutions, and ad- vocacy group to intensify their campaign for mass mobilization and participation for the exercise.
“People must be educated that the only way to translate their support to vote is by registration”, he said.
He also cautioned against double registration which he describe as a criminal offence, saying that anyone caught in the act would be made to face the law.