The superlative performance of the Edo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections have restricted All Progressives Congress (APC) to Edo North senatorial district. The state chapter of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which metamorphosed into APC last year had since 2011 dominated elective positions in the state.
The party (APC) dominated National Assembly seats with two senators representing Edo North and Edo South senatorial districts and seven House of Representatives members, four from Edo South and three in Edo North senatorial districts as well as 19 members in the 24 state House of Assembly.
The 19 members are in Edo North and Edo South senatorial districts with eight and 10 members and one in Edo central senatorial districts which represented Esan South-East constituency. This was the political development before the mass defection of APC members to PDP during the 2014 congresses in the state including some members in the state House of Assembly.
The People’s Democratic Party on the other hand had one senate seat and two Representatives members in Edo Central senatorial district. With the outcome of the last Saturday elections in the state, PDP however, restricted the dominance of APC to Edo North senatorial district, the home base of the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole.
Edo North senatorial has six local governments, namely Etsako West, Etsako East, Etsako Central,Akoko- Edo, Owan East and Owan West. The results of the elections in the state showed that the PDP presidential candidate, Goodluck Jonathan polled a total of 286,969 as against APC candidate with 208,469 votes out of the total valid votes of 500,451 of the 522.785 votes cast across the 18 local government areas. PDP presidential candidate won 15 out of the 17 local government areas where the elections took place while APC won in two which are Owan East and Etsako West
. PDP cleared all the five local government areas in Edo Central senatorial ditrict and seven in Edo South. It has also won five House of Representatives’ seats out of nine, leaving only three which are in Edo North district to APC.
The party which had already won Edo central senatorial seat is also poised to win that of Edo South following the unconfirmed results that emanated from wards in the six councils that elections had so far been concluded. The ruling APC only won that of Edo North senatorial district.
