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When Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki on December 18, 2017 set the ball rolling for the conduct of elections into the 18 local government councils with a letter of request to the state House of Assembly for the confirmation of seven-man nominees into Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), not many prospective political office seekers on the platform of the All Progressives Congress read in-between the lines that the processes to the electoral contest would be an uphill tasks.
Developments since then have scaled up with the confirmation of the nominees, passage of the amendment of the Edo State Local Government Electoral Law and the establishment of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission on December 12, 2017 by the House of Assembly, swearing-in of the nominees by the state governor on December 21, 2017 and the release of elections guidelines and dates by the electoral commission.
But the unsuspecting prospective aspirants were however, disappointed when the state chapter of the party in a general meeting with leaders of the 18 local government areas, presided over by the state chairman of the party, Anselm Ojezua and Governor Obaseki represented by Patrick Obahiagbon announced strict conditions that would-be aspirants must fulfil to be eligible for the election.
Ojezua, who announced the conditions, said eligible aspirants, must have his or her ward in the 2018 governorship election in the state, and that all former councillors, local government council chairmen and other political office holders in the administration of local government have been banned from participating in the election.
He said the decision was taken in the best interest of the administration of Local Government Councils in the state and that on-going reforms in revenue collection introduced by the state to make Local Government Councils self-reliant, and are able to pay their salaries, are not disrupted.
“We have emphasised the issue of qualification in our party guidelines to aspirants as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Our constitution allows us to determine issues by consensus and leaders arrived by consensus on those that they want to contest, we cannot stop them. The only thing is that nobody has come to us and been refused form. Whatever they arrived at; we will do primaries and all the aspirants must go through screening”, he said.
This development, led to protests by some of the party chieftains who felt that the directives was a calculated desire to send them into political oblivion as well as an act of ingratitude for several years of contributions to the electoral success of the party particularly in the last 2016 gubernatorial election that brought the incumbent government to power.
They threatened to right the perceived wrong and challenge the military-like injustice in the law court, stating that election was always the avenue to appreciate and compensate political leaders for their contributions to the party, especially after the total victory.
They said since everyone cannot be appointed into state executive council; local government, committees and board membership of state-owned parastatals are geared towards compensations of chieftains and supporters.
One of the chieftains of the party to openly express disdain for the party’s perceived draconian directives was Michael Egharevba, of Oredo Local Government Area.
Egharevba, who described the directives as rumour, advised aspirants who have already collected nomination forms to fill them and submit same to the appropriate party’s secretariat.
“I have been receiving complaints from concerned members of the APC from across the state about what is happening in our party. Some people have been spreading rumours that former local government chairmen, councillors and ex-political office holders will not contest the local government elections fixed for 3, March 2018,” Egharevba said.
According to him, “Some are even saying that the governor has said this or that, but Governor Godwin Obaseki has made it very clear from the beginning on the dichotomy between the party and the government; that governance should be left to the government and the running of the party to party leaders.
“The alleged barring of past political leaders is not true and it will not be true. Those spreading the rumours are trying to introduce draconian, criminal and military politics into the APC. They are trying to cause disaffection within the party.”
“Governor Godwin Obaseki as a democrat will not accept this and we have been very happy with him because he is doing very well. If those spreading the rumours have collected money from people, they should return the money to them,” he further said.
In his opinion, “All political masquerades must be rooted from the party; they have no excuse to do what they are doing; it is just an alibi for them to perpetrate their criminal tendencies on the party. There is no law which says because you have held political position in the past, you cannot contest the election.”
Following the protests by the chieftains, the state leadership of the party, swiftly reversed the decision to ban former chairmen and councillors from the Local Government elections as well as to forestall the likely litigations that may follow the electoral process.
To worsen the situation, prospective aspirants were allegedly advised by top chieftains of the party not to collect nomination forms as people have already been anointed for the various elective positions across the 18 local councils for the position of chairmen and 192 ward councillors in the state.
The reality of the alleged directives, however, played itself out during the intense period of politicking for the party’s primary.
In Egor Local Government Area, one Osaretin George-Izevbuwa was collectively endorsed by the local government leaders, executives and ward chairmen as a sole candidate.
The resolution for the endorsement dated January 9, 2018 was allegedly signed by Lucky Imaseun, former deputy governor of the state; Gentleman Amegor, APC Edo South senatorial leader; Crosby Eribo, leader of APC in Egor and member, House of Assembly; Paul Ohonbamu, commissioner for Information and Orientation; Osion Olaye, deputy leader, APC in Egor; Benjamin Omoregieva Egor Local Government Area chairman and all ward chairmen.
Governor Godwin Obaseki; Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie; Special Adviser to the governor on political matters, Osaro Idah; and Chairman, APC, Edo state, Anselm Ojezua were all copied in the resolution.
But in the space of two weeks, the endorsement of Izevbuwa was reversed in favour of Eghe Ogbemudia, the daughter of the late Samuel Ogbemudia, who was two-time governor of the defunct Midwest and Bendel state.
The endorsement of Ogbemudia came to the fore on January 24, during the primary elections at the party’s secretariat in Egor, when Lucky Imaseun read a six-point resolution endorsing her.
He stated that after deliberations it was resolved that by the adoption of Eghe Ogbemudia, as APC candidate for Egor, the issue of official government council candidacy has been perpetually put to rest, and listed those who signed the resolution.
The endorsement however, did not go down well with Efe Stewart, one of the aspirants who insisted that there must be primary election based on open-secret-ballot.
Stewart’s rejection of the leaders’ decision resulted in a free-for-all in which he was beaten and his suit torn by suspected loyalists of the party in the locality, before he was whisked away by officials of the State Security Service.
Anti-mobile policemen from the Ogida Divisional Headquarters and those from Okhoro division were drafted to the scene to forestall further breakdown of law and order.
Speaking with newsmen, Stewart said the party leaders in the locality were out to deny him the right to contest the party primary because he openly spoke against selection, imposition and consensus.
“I am a chairmanship aspirant. This is my nomination form. I also applied to contest in this chairmanship primary election in the Egor local government council, but, surprisingly when I got here, the local government APC secretariat, venue of the primary election, the leaders of the party in the local government were telling me different stories.
“I thought as an aspirant, I should be carried along. That we should adhere strictly to the constitution of the party by getting ourselves involved in the primary by way of open-secret-ballot as stated in the party’s constitution. But, I was surprised that they want to deny me the right to contest the primary.
“They are now calling for my arrest. They want to use government machineries or apparatus to oppose me. But, I am going to cry out for the whole world, that my fundamental right is being violated for coming out to participate in an electoral process. I am ready to pursue this matter to a logical conclusion because it is my right.
“I have been a member of this party for the past 12 years. But my only sin was saying that we should go to the field and contest and not by imposition. They have directed that the person of Eghe Ogbemudia should be the candidate of the party at the end of the day. They are not disputing that fact but I am insisting that there should be primary election.
“If she defeats me, so be it, I will work with her. But I am surprised that the same democracy that brought this government into power today is not being practised. That is why I am totally embarrassed,” he lamented.
The hullabaloo that greeted the primary was not only limited to Egor Local Government. In Owan East Local Government Area, party members held parallel primaries resulting in the emergence of two chairmanship candidates.
The primary, which was attended by delegates from 10 wards in the locality, held in Afuze, the administrative headquarters of the council, produced Victor Ohionsumua, while the one which held at Warrake attended by only one ward produced Andrew Osigwe.
The leaders accused the state deputy governor, Philip Shaibu of purportedly hijacking the Owan East Local Government Area primary election.
According to them, Emmanuel Agbale, commissioner for Science and Technology, the returning officer of the council, never visited the venue but instead he, in company of Philip Shaibu went to Warrake ward 11, to declare Andrew Osigwe the winner with only the vote of ward 11, Warrake.
They further said that councillors from ward 1 to 10 who were also duly nominated have their names replaced by the purported Warrake primary conducted by the commissioner and the deputy governor.
They however, urged the leadership of the party in the state to put an end to undemocratic practices allegedly perpetuated by the deputy governor before the party is immersed in serious crisis, noting that impunity must not be allowed to stand.
In Esan West Local Government, the primary could not hold as aspirants failed to come to a compromise to settle for one candidate. This resulted in the matter being referred to the state secretariat for the leadership to resolve.
