BusinessDay 04 Feb 2018
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C002D5556<br />
16 BD SUNDAY<br />
Sunday <strong>04</strong> <strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2018</strong><br />
Politics<br />
Acrimony in Edo APC ahead of LG poll<br />
…Members decry alleged imposition of candidates<br />
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin<br />
When Edo State Governor,<br />
Godwin Obaseki<br />
on December 18, 2017<br />
set the ball rolling for<br />
the conduct of elections<br />
into the 18 local government councils<br />
with a letter of request to the state<br />
House of Assembly for the confirmation<br />
of seven-man nominees into Edo State<br />
Independent Electoral Commission<br />
(EDSIEC), not many prospective political<br />
office seekers on the platform of the All<br />
Progressives Congress read in-between<br />
the lines that the processes to the electoral<br />
contest would be an uphill tasks.<br />
Developments since then have scaled<br />
up with the confirmation of the nominees,<br />
passage of the amendment of the<br />
Edo State Local Government Electoral<br />
Law and the establishment of the Edo<br />
State Independent Electoral Commission<br />
on December 12, 2017 by the House of<br />
Assembly, swearing-in of the nominees<br />
by the state governor on December<br />
21, 2017 and the release of elections<br />
guidelines and dates by the electoral<br />
commission.<br />
But the unsuspecting prospective<br />
aspirants were however, disappointed<br />
when the state chapter of the party in<br />
a general meeting with leaders of the<br />
18 local government areas, presided<br />
over by the state chairman of the party,<br />
Anselm Ojezua and Governor Obaseki<br />
represented by Patrick Obahiagbon announced<br />
strict conditions that would-be<br />
aspirants must fulfil to be eligible for the<br />
election.<br />
Ojezua, who announced the conditions,<br />
said eligible aspirants, must have<br />
his or her ward in the <strong>2018</strong> governorship<br />
election in the state, and that all<br />
former councillors, local government<br />
council chairmen and other political<br />
office holders in the administration of local<br />
government have been banned from<br />
participating in the election.<br />
He said the decision was taken in the<br />
best interest of the administration of<br />
Local Government Councils in the state<br />
and that on-going reforms in revenue<br />
collection introduced by the state to make<br />
Local Government Councils self-reliant,<br />
and are able to pay their salaries, are not<br />
disrupted.<br />
“We have emphasised the issue of<br />
qualification in our party guidelines to<br />
aspirants as stipulated in the Constitution<br />
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.<br />
“Our constitution allows us to determine<br />
issues by consensus and leaders<br />
arrived by consensus on those that they<br />
want to contest, we cannot stop them.<br />
The only thing is that nobody has come<br />
to us and been refused form. Whatever<br />
they arrived at; we will do primaries and<br />
all the aspirants must go through screening”,<br />
he said.<br />
This development, led to protests by<br />
some of the party chieftains who felt that<br />
the directives was a calculated desire to<br />
send them into political oblivion as well<br />
as an act of ingratitude for several years<br />
of contributions to the electoral success<br />
of the party particularly in the last 2016<br />
gubernatorial election that brought the<br />
incumbent government to power.<br />
They threatened to right the perceived<br />
wrong and challenge the military-like injustice<br />
in the law court, stating that election<br />
was always the avenue to appreciate<br />
and compensate political leaders for their<br />
contributions to the party, especially after<br />
the total victory.<br />
They said since everyone cannot be<br />
appointed into state executive council;<br />
local government, committees and board<br />
membership of state-owned parastatals<br />
are geared towards compensations of<br />
chieftains and supporters.<br />
One of the chieftains of the party to<br />
openly express disdain for the party’s perceived<br />
draconian directives was Michael<br />
Egharevba, of Oredo Local Government<br />
Area.<br />
Egharevba, who described the directives<br />
as rumour, advised aspirants who<br />
have already collected nomination forms<br />
to fill them and submit same to the appropriate<br />
party’s secretariat.<br />
“I have been receiving complaints<br />
from concerned members of the APC<br />
from across the state about what is happening<br />
in our party. Some people have<br />
been spreading rumours that former local<br />
government chairmen, councillors and<br />
ex-political office holders will not contest<br />
I have been receiving<br />
complaints from concerned<br />
members of the<br />
APC from across the state<br />
about what is happening<br />
in our party. Some people<br />
have been spreading rumours<br />
that former local<br />
government chairmen,<br />
councillors and ex-political<br />
office holders will not<br />
contest the local government<br />
elections fixed for 3,<br />
March <strong>2018</strong><br />
the local government elections fixed for 3, March<br />
<strong>2018</strong>,” Egharevba said.<br />
According to him, “Some are even saying that<br />
the governor has said this or that, but Governor<br />
Godwin Obaseki has made it very clear from the<br />
beginning on the dichotomy between the party<br />
and the government; that governance should be<br />
left to the government and the running of the<br />
party to party leaders.<br />
“The alleged barring of past political leaders is<br />
not true and it will not be true. Those spreading<br />
the rumours are trying to introduce draconian,<br />
criminal and military politics into the APC. They<br />
are trying to cause disaffection within the party.”<br />
“Governor Godwin Obaseki as a democrat<br />
will not accept this and we have been very<br />
happy with him because he is doing very well.<br />
If those spreading the rumours have collected<br />
money from people, they should return the<br />
money to them,” he further said.<br />
In his opinion, “All political masquerades must<br />
be rooted from the party; they have no excuse<br />
to do what they are doing; it is just an alibi for<br />
them to perpetrate their criminal tendencies on<br />
the party. There is no law which says because<br />
you have held political position in the past, you<br />
cannot contest the election.”<br />
Following the protests by the chieftains, the<br />
state leadership of the party, swiftly reversed the<br />
decision to ban former chairmen and councillors<br />
from the Local Government elections as well as<br />
to forestall the likely litigations that may follow<br />
the electoral process.<br />
To worsen the situation, prospective aspirants<br />
were allegedly advised by top chieftains of the<br />
party not to collect nomination forms as people<br />
have already been anointed for the various elective<br />
positions across the 18 local councils for the<br />
position of chairmen and 192 ward councillors<br />
in the state.<br />
The reality of the alleged directives, however,<br />
played itself out during the intense period of<br />
politicking for the party’s primary.<br />
In Egor Local Government Area, one Osaretin<br />
George-Izevbuwa was collectively endorsed by<br />
the local government leaders, executives and