It is a no-brainer: Godwin Obaseki’s next destination after
his disqualification by the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday can only
be the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the second biggest party in Edo state.
He has already said he will not appeal his disqualification
by the governorship screening panel — a clear message that he intends to
continue his fight from another platform.
The Edo state governor, who ran against Osagie Ize-Iyamu in
2016, will most likely end up swapping places with his old opponent: he as the
PDP candidate and Ize-Iyamu as the APC candidate.
Not that Ize-Iyamu has won APC’s ticket already — that will
be settled in the June 22 primary — but he is believed to be the choice of
Adams Oshiomhole, the national chairman of APC and Obaseki’s erstwhile
godfather who installed him as governor in 2016.
Oshiomhole is former governor of Edo.
It is confirmed that the PDP had been waiting in the
wings for the APC crisis to boil over so that it can provide a platform for
Obaseki.
Now is the time.
The party had also, in principle, reserved its governorship
ticket for Obaseki, but it is not clear yet if the June 19 PDP primary will be
a walk-over for him.
There are four major aspirants in the PDP as things stand:
Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, a member of the house of reps; Ifaluyi Isibor, a former
rep; Kenneth Imansuagbon and George Ikhine.
Typically, Obaseki would need a waiver to run for the PDP
ticket as a fresh member, but this is not usually a problem if the party
executives at state and national levels are on the same page.
Ize-Iyamu has already joined the APC with his supporters,
and this is believed to have weakened the PDP.
In 2016, Obaseki outscored Ize-Iyamu by 319,483 to 253,173
votes, but the PDP has always been strong in Edo state, currently controlling
two of the three senatorial districts.
Obaseki is also expected to move with his APC supporters to
the PDP.
In all, the Edo governorship election, slated for September
19, promises to be more than a walk in the park for either party.
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