As
the Edo governorship election slated for
Saturday September 10 draws nearer, it is pertinent to take a closer look at two
of the prominent contestants from APC and PDP. Who gets to occupy the government house next?
I present to you Godwin Obaseki, the
flagbearer of the APC at the polls, who won his party primaries on June 18. Obaseki,
currently serving in the Governing Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange is a
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, Nigeria and an alumnus of
the Lagos Business School Chief Executive Program. His acclaim as a seasoned financial
advisor can be traced back to 1995
when he founded SecTrust, the predecessor company to Afrinvest, pioneering
major innovations and providing leadership in the Nigerian stock market. He served
as the managing director and director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited and
also served as Chairman of the Board until June 2016.
Godwin Obaseki 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. What he lacks in political experience, he makes up for it in terms of
his ability to transform the economy of Edo around for the benefit of the
people. If he wins, he will seamlessly translate his visions leading the
Economic and Strategy team of the state onto a grandeur plan to better the
lives of Edo inhabitants.
On the other hand, having been given
his party’s sole ticket on June 20, Osagie Ize-Iyamu will contest on the
platform of the PDP on Saturday. A lawyer by profession, Ize-Iyamu offers
something different to his close opponent in terms of an array of experience on
the political scene. 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). He was the director general of the
Adams Oshiomhole’s second term campaign organisation, but later fell out with
the governor. So, when it comes to matters of election or governance, Ize-Iyamu
is surely ahead, but things balance out when one considers his opponent is from
the incumbent governor’s party.
Oshiomhole
factor
The
power of incumbency is still very much something to be considered in our
political clime. The ability to use state power and resources to win elections,
maneuver your way on Election Day, evade arrest even when doing something
contrary to electoral laws and intimidate voters especially with financial
rewards all play a part in determining who occupies the government house. On this
note, at least for one, it is believed that Adams Oshiomhole is determined to
see Obaseki succeed him. One of the reasons for this is that despite the
involvement of 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. On the other hand, some political commentators point to the growing
power and influence of Oshiomhle in the state, which might sway some bigwigs,
even in the opposition party, to support his candidate in favour of getting
political favours in the next dispensation.
Notwithstanding,
the above analysis, Edo voters have it all to do on Saturday to choose which
direction the state’s pendulum will swing in the next four years.
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