Life after Adams Oshiomhole: Who will win Edo governorship election, PDP or APC?

– The stage is set for the Edo governorship election of September 10, 2016

– Momentum is gradually buildng up across major political parties in the state

– The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obaseki defeated other aspirants at the APC primaries of Saturday, June 18, while Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who will fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won his party sole ticket and was announced winner on Monday, June 20

– Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki have both been in the same political camp before they went their separate ways due to individual aspiration

On Monday, June 20, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state made a remark after the PDP governorship candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu won the PDP governorship primaries. Oshiomhole said Ize-Iyamu was a featherweight.

The comment of the comrade-governor is coming on the heels of the fact that the PDP flagbearer will contest the Edo governorship election of this year, with his own anointed candidate, Godwin Obaseki.

Osagie Ize-Iyamu vs Godwin Obaseki

A good number of Edo state indigenes and some Nigerians have started reacting to the emergence of the two political titans.

Critics of Governor Oshiomhole believe it is high time the PDP took over Edo state from the high-handedness of the APC in the state. These anti-APC people believe, the current governor is more of an authoritarian.

READ ALSO: 10 things to know about Oshiomhole’s possible successor

On the other hand, anti-PDP forces are of the opinion that, the only thing Edo state needs, is someone who knows the in and out of the state, like the APC governorship flagbearer. They opined that it is continuity that the people of the state need.

Since Osagie is part and parcel of the APC current administration, therefore he will be coming to a familiar terrain.

Both men have their strengths and weaknesses. However, the electorates of Edo state will have the final say, as to which of the two men deserves to put on the shoes that will be left by Oshiomhole.

Comparing the credentials and experience of both men in administration and possibly achievements in recent past, will also make people to know which of the two contenders is capable of succeeding the current governor.

Osagie Ize-Iyamu

Ize-Iyamu is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and a former chief of staff and secretary to Edo state government. He was a top member of the APC before he decamped to the PDP. Ize-Iyamu was likewise the national vice chairman, South-South zone of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

READ ALSO: 10 things to know about man who may succeed Oshiomhole

He was the director general of the Adams Oshiomhole’s second term campaign organisation, but later fell out with the governor. He coordinated the office of the Goodluck/Sambo campaign organisation, and ensured he contributed his own quota to the organisation.

The PDP governorship flagbearer was the chairman of Oredo local government council, Benin City, in 1983, under the zero party system.

He showcased his knowledge in management and entrepreneurial spirit when he set up the magnificent I.O Farms Training Institute, which is a model farm settlement at Ugbor-Amagba communities, Benin City, Edo State. The institute has churned out hundreds of young agriculturist. He was recently honoured by the Benson Idahosa University, a private Higher Institution of Learning in Edo state, with an honourary doctorate degree in public administration.

Godwin Obaseki

Obaseki served as the managing director and director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited and also served as Chairman of the Board until June 2016. In 1995, He founded SecTrust, the predecessor company to Afrinvest, pioneering major innovations and providing leadership in the Nigerian stock market.

Obaseki served on the Presidential Committee on the Reform of the Nigerian Pension System. He also served on the Committee on the Re-activation of the Nigerian Bond Market set up by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is an active member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and currently serves in its Governing Council. He has also served on many of the committees of NSE. In 2001, he was nominated Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT) by the World Economic Forum.

He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School Chief Executive Program.

He is the founding and current chairman of the Edo state Economic and Strategy Team which was inaugurated by Governor Adams Oshiomhole in March 2009. He got a wide endorsement from all the major political stakeholders in APC in Edo state before he contested the primary election which he eventually won by a wide margin.

Obaseki holds post graduate degrees in both Finance and International Business. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers of Nigeria.

Adams Oshiomhole’s influence

Some political observers of the Edo episode think the incumbency factor of the governor will swing victory towards Obaseki’s side. The justification of these people is that, Oshiomhole is determined to see Obaseki succeed him. One of the reasons for this is that despite Pius Odubu, the deputy governor of Edo state, who was one of the contestants at the APC governorship primaries, he was not favoured by Oshiomhole.

Some people believe the PDP is already dead in Edo state based on the sterling performance of Oshiomhole in the last seven years. They stand on this point whenever they talk about politics in the state.

There was a time Governor Oshiomhole himself was reported to have said his developmental projects in Edo state were not just for his party men and supporters, but also for those who did not vote for him. The governor boasted he even tarred the road which led to the house of a staunch PDP member in the state.

To some people, the comrade governor has become the rallying point in the state. Therefore, any candidate he endorses, will surely carry the day.

Adams Oshiomhole, living on past glory

The PDP believes the 2016 governorship race will determine the destiny of the state. They say the governor has been more of a noise maker recently, and that is popularity has drastically nose-dived due to hi anti-people policies.

They hold the view that APC had started dying gradually in Edo, as the party could only win one of the three senatorial slots during the 2015 general elections, in which PDP won the other two.

They also base their argument on the fact that the PDP won the state during the last presidential election.

They say Oshiomhole has sinned against many indigenes by not making their standard of living better. They believe the governor frustrated so many people, especially when he started demolishing people’s houses.

Another angle to the Edo governorship issue is that there are statements coming from some people that the PDP candidate has worked with the governor before, therefore he knows what it takes to capture the state from APC.

There are many permutations regarding who will have the laugh last at the end of the day when both men take their political battle to the field come September 10, this year.

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