The slippery political terrain of Oredo Edo APC must not…- TheConclaveNg

“Okuo na y’otọ ighi gbe adowẹ. Edo would think that an announced war does not kill the lame. Therefore, it may be timely and necessary, to alert the Edo State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, that there are banana peels dotting the political context of Edo, especially the Oredo Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

In a situation that has seemingly upset the political bandwagon and permutation of Oredo, Paddy Emmanuel Iyamu, recently retired as the State Commissioner for Education, to contest for the Oredo Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives (HOR), Abuja, had the balloon of his aspirations punctured by a powerful, and what appeared to be a generic vote against his political ambition.

Aiguobasinmwin Movement Worldwide, a frontline socio-cultural group pursuing the welfare of Benin (South of Edo), through a press conference, warned the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against fielding Iyamu in the elections, as he had allegedly supported the creation of Toru Ebe and Anioma states, respectively, to be detached from Edo. But Edo South and the people of the state are against it. The group also said it had a premonition that one Paddy Iyamu, if elected to the HOR, would use the seat to achieve the same objective, further hampering the interests of the voters he supposedly represents.

However, Iyamu was embroiled in a war of words over allegations linking him to the proposed state creation, which he said were false and baseless.

But there are pent-up grievances and feelings of alienation among many of its members, across the state, against the party. Edo APC is largely seen as incapable of managing its success effectively, after the party reclaimed the governorship power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when Senator Monday Okpebholo won the 2024 elections.

“We have seen the collateral damage that the imposition of unpopular flag bearers like Godwin Obaseki could cause to the APC. When Paddy Iyamu was appointed as commissioner, the actual decision of the State party was that other elective positions, such as those of the State House of Assembly and the HOR, should be reserved for members who had worked tirelessly to fund and maintain the Oredo APC, due to the Obaseki government’s offensives against us”

A prominent APC member from Oredo said, on request of anonymity, who further said;

“We have Governor Okpebholo, who has set an ambitious target for Edo APC to get 3.5 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the 2027 presidential election. How will Edo APC achieve this target if things are not going well for the party? I am not blaming Governor Okpebholo, who is doing very well in the state.”

Figuratively speaking, the state is rightly nicknamed the “heartbeat” of the country, where Benin City would be the hemoglobin, which stabilizes oxygenated blood. Imperatively, Oredo LGA becomes the “systole” that pumps oxygenated blood to activate the heartbeat and heart.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the authorized arbiter of elections, had publicized its plans. The elections will be held in a cluster, in 2027, which will include the state House of Assembly, Governorship, National Assembly and presidential elections.

In Edo, the governorship election marks a gap in the conduct of general elections, as in some states of the federation. This means that the Edo governorship elections are staggered or conducted differently.

To convince the standard bearers of the political parties to compete for the different elective positions of the three electoral chambers mentioned above, in Edo, a bazaar of candidates for political offices are spending restless nights, fighting for the very few legislative possibilities open.

“Sokpan, ẹmila ni bun ighi sẹtin wọn amẹn vbẹ ikoba ọkpa.” But many cow heads cannot drink water from a bucket, at the same time, without closing their horns.” Party primaries are like marathons, where there are contenders and pretenders. Separating a man from the boys or “separating a woman from the girls” ultimately solves the problem.”

Adams Oshiomhole, a former state governor and sitting senator representing Edo North state constituency, in the Red House, Abuja, is not always free from puns. Oshioquake, as he is fondly called, once told this writer during the party’s controversial primaries, where he was widely criticized for his unilateral imposition of Godwin Obaseki, as the APC governorship candidate, in the 2015 election;

“Aspirants for primaries and party cards are like beautiful and ugly girls. They all rub on face powder, pancakes and lipsticks, to deceive people that they are very beautiful. My comrade, Tony Erha, do you know that it is a mistake to choose a wife on Christmas Eve, where all girls are seen as beautiful?

But Blessing Agbonmere, Austin Ilenre Emuan and Peter Esele, aspirants in the primaries, held at Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, who witnessed the exchange, could recall, and that it was an error of judgment, that alerted Oshiomhole, without him deciphering that the Obaseki he had chosen, among others, would “fall out of hand”.

I am not part of the APC, nor am I a member of the party. Administrative errors, indiscipline and the imposition of office are a scourge on political parties. It is an invitation to political disorder.

The heart of Benin City is booming and unstable. It is the country’s most authentic “heartbeat”: a cesspool and exit from the “political heat and blizzards” spreading nationwide. In recent times, the political movement of the ‘Obidients’ has been rekindled from the state capital, of which Oredo is the boiling cauldron, and has shaken the country to its foundations.

Unknown to many, there is simmering unrest in the background. My concern is that Edo APC handles its internal problems carefully, so as to avoid relapses.
“Enọ gha mu igbina ọka mu ẹzọ.” “Those who would later separate or break up a fight should have asked for a peaceful solution. But it is disrespect or “who are you?” that triggers arguments and brawls. Emwin na ma ru ẹse ọsiẹ ita lẹmwẹn, kẹke igbina – Indecent and provocative acts generate unnecessary arguments and arguments.

I know little about Paddy Iyamu. I have not met him in person, except in still and moving images. He has a psychedelic appearance and the imposing air of a well-fed son of an aristocrat.

Yet, it is still baffling why he abandoned the portfolio of the exalted education commissioner early, to go on a wild goose chase for the HORs. Who are his advisors and his constituents who pushed him to do so? Were you consulted widely before the decision? What is wrong with the rudders of the education he had thrown away? Was it no longer relevant to him? Did he say these things to the voters of Oredo?

In the state, education is the most important sector given priority attention by the government, where the education commissioner is idolised, due to his salient duties towards students, parents and guidance.

There was once an inspiring meeting with Dr. Nosa Omoregie, an Education Commissioner of the era of the late sage and former governor of the old Bendel State, Professor Ambrose Alli. So, as the country president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN), and now an octogenarian, Dr. Omoregie embraced me affectionately, as I assured him that I am his mentee, along with numerous students and youths of my era, who have benefited immensely from his good work.

I often visited Dr. Godswill Oghoghodo, a well-known former State Commissioner for Education, at his law office, in Benin City. Wherever he goes, he is respected like Dr. Omoregie.

But Paddy Iyamu voters and Edo people would have benefited more from him as education commissioner than from a gamble for the national assembly seat.

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