Edo PDP Crisis: Obaseki, Orbih’s ‘political marriage’ threatened

By Francis Ogbuagu

Until the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Presidential Primary that produced former Vice President , Alhaji Abubakar Atiku as the Presidential candidate of the main opposition party. Candidates that emerged from PDP primaries in Edo State were all glued in suspense, as the two factions led by the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and PDP South-south Vice Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih took time to conduct primaries in their different camps thereby producing two candidates for each positions.

How the crisis started

The ruling party in Edo State ran into mucky waters when it won the 2020 governorship election with Governor Godwin Obaseki, who was refused a return ticket by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the wake of the APC primaries for, among others, an alleged defiance in funding the party. The division in the party between the PDP aborigines and those that “escorted” Obaseki from the All Progressives Congress (APC) became wide as heaven is, from hell when the governor concluded his appointments with just one commissioner slot given to them. The 18 local government party chairmen, after an emergency meeting decided that while Obaseki takes his government, the party structure remains and will not be harmonised to accommodate Obaseki’s men. This led to wide range protest by the governors’ men, who insisted that the party be harmonized to accommodate them.

Shaibu cries out

The Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, had in a viral video complained of an alleged injustice meted on Obaseki’s men.

Shaibu said officials of the PDP were yet to accept those who decamped with Governor Godwin Obaseki, including Anslem Ojezua, a former State chairman of the APC and others. Addressing his grievances to Obaseki, Shaibu said: “What I know, my chairman in APC, Anslem Ojezua and all other chairmen and executives that left with us, we follow you to the PDP. Mr. Governor, we are tired, we are actually tired. Every time we come, [you tell us] we’ll soon, we’ll soon, we’ll soon; when will this we’ll soon be over? “Mr. Governor, we all agreed that anywhere you go, we will follow you; we still stand by that. Mr. Governor, we escorted you to PDP, but we are still not being accepted hat is the truth,” he said. The PDP primaries that produced party’s candidates for the State and National Assembly threw up two candidates each for every position heightening the fear of Zamfara State 2019 election scenario, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared not to have a candidate by INEC.

Orbih’s camp position

Owing to this tension, the Dan Orbih camp was attacked during the factional primary for the aspirants to the senate in Edo South which produced the current member representing Oredo Federal Constituency, Engr. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, as its candidate, leaving a casualty of the Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District, Senator Mathew Uhroghide, who was on the governors’ camp ,but lost to Mathew Iduoiyekemwen. The legal battle between the camps heightened days before the national convention over which camp has the authentic delegates list until they were jerked to realities when the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on the 28th of May,2022 stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognizing or accepting ad hoc delegates provided by the Governor Godwin Obaseki’s faction of the party .

Court’s declaration

The court declared the ad hoc delegates produced by the Dan Orbih’s faction of the party as the authentic and must be recognised and accepted. Delivering judgment in a suit instituted by 581 delegates elected on April 30, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that the PDP and other defendants in the suit are bound by Section 84 (5) of the Electoral Act 2022 as well as Section 15 of the PDP Constitution relating to delegates’ elections. The PDP National Convention seems to have been laid to rest the suspense and tension over whose faction was on the side of the law as the delegates of the Orbih-led faction voted at the presidential primary. Sensing that the Obaseki’s camp has been outsmarted, the men sort solace in La bour Party and on May 26, 2022, they emerged as Labour Party’s candidates for Edo State House of Assembly.

The Labour Party primaries were to have been coordinated from Government House, Benin City. Commenting, a chieftain of the party, who said he does want his name in print said, the Obaseki camp are ‘political wanderers’ According to him, “you know that matter has been resolved, going by the event that took place during the PDP National Convention, it is a simple matter. “I don’t want to be drawn into that matter, because I have always advised that robust negotiation is the key, even as I speak, negotiation can still solve the problem before the submission of party list to INEC is done.

“There is nothing impossible in politics, but some people want to remain in their high horse, refusing to come down. I don’t want to be seen supporting one side, but the whole thing is clear. “I heard that some of them has gone to Labour Party, let them go , maybe when they get to labour, the Labour Chairman in Edo State will stand up and ask them to sit down as chairman. “Those people are political wanderers, it is not the best thing to do, what I see as the best thing to do is for them to sit down and talk.”