The Edo State gubernatorial election which was conducted on Wednesday, September 20, is over but has left in its wake a tale of drama, rancour, distrust, pain and to a greater extent sabotage.

Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is now the governor-elect, having garnered 319,483 votes in the election which was generally adjudged as free and fair. His main challenger, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 253, 170 votes, meaning there is a margin of 66,313 votes between the two. Though Ize-Iyamu and his party have kicked against the outcome of the election, only the courts can ascertain the potency of the claim in the coming days, even as Obaseki is already preparing to take over Government House, Benin.

The APC, which is the ruling party in Edo State, and the opposition PDP, have had their fair share of intra-party wrangling prior to the election. However, it was the APC that was able to effectively surmount the thunderstorm, put its house in order and triumph. On the other hand, the rancour and distrust in the PDP, which is still struggling at the national level to liberate itself from the pain of its defeat during the 2015 general election, once again worked as its albatross in Edo. Most of the problems in the two parties in Edo started in the build-up to the gubernatorial primary election, when dozens of chieftains expressed their readiness to clinch the ticket of their parties.

Before June 18 when the APC conducted its primaries in which Godwin Obaseki, godson of outgoing governor, Adams Oshiomhole, emerged winner, many thought the influence of the ruling party will come to an end.

Obaseki, who polled 1,618 during the primaries, slugged it out with eleven other contestants, including the outgoing Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu; a former governor, Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor, and a former Minister of State for Works, Chris Ogiemwonyi. Others are Maj-Gen Charles Airhiavbere (retd.), Kenneth Imasuagbon, Peter Esele, ‎Tina Agbarha, Blessing Agbomere, Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula, Professor Ebegue Amadasun and Austin Emuan.

After the primaries, Obaseki’s distant second was Odubu, the deputy governor, who scored 471 votes. At the height of the struggle for the APC ticket, pundits had predicted that in the event Obaseki emerged victorious, most of the remaining candidates would revolt against Oshiomhole. They also projected that there was the likelihood that the ‘defeated candidates’ may either defect to another party or remain in the APC but sabotage it during the main election.

But it was the reverse that became the case, as Oshiomhole did not only succeeded in calming frayed nerves, but was able to convince most of the aggrieved aspirants, including his deputy, to relentlessly campaign for Obaseki.

At a time, there were insinuations that Oshiomhole had ‘mobilised’ members of the Edo State House of Assembly to impeach Odubu for daring him to seek for the opposition of the governor.

Odubu worked very well for Obaseki’s victory and in the process, pouring positive commendation on Oshiomhole, whom he always referred to as “our leader”. It was gathered that soon after their exit from the Edo Government House in the next couple of weeks, Odubu will be compensated with a juicy appointment by the federal government.

Also, the extension of the gubernatorial election from September 10, which to greater extent drew harsh commentary from across the divide, including the PDP, that it was the APC that pushed for the extension because it sensed defeat, is now mere reference.

Oshiomhole’s mastery of internal conflict resolution mechanisms and the resources at his disposal, saved the day for him. And unless something unpleasant happens in the future when Obaseki fully consolidates his grip after his swearing-in, Oshiomhole is now the undisputable godfather of Edo politics.

Observers believe that the PDP was the architect of its own undoing in Edo, as it failed to use the shortcomings of the APC at all levels, including the biting economic hardship in the land, occasioned by recession, to score political gain.

Instead, the PDP remained in disarray, bickering and self-destructing, right from the build-up to its primaries up till the end of the main election.
For instance, up until few weeks to the election, the PDP had two gubernatorial aspirants, including Ize-Iyamu, who was paraded by the National Caretaker Committee of the party, headed by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, who emerged from the camp of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff.

Makarfi, who emerged as the national chairman of the PDP in a contentious convention in Port Harcourt, worked alongside the PDP governors to produce Ize-Iyamu.

Ize-Iyamu therefore believed that with such a huge support, coupled with the Port Harcourt Federal High Court ruling that gave legal backing to the Makarfi-led PDP, that all is well for him.
On the other hand, Iduoriyekemwen, a former member of the Edo State House of Assembly, was basking in the perceived warmth of the Lagos Federal High Court judgment that gave recognition to Sen. Sheriff.

The two factions took several weeks accusing and undermining one another over the Edo governorship, with Sheriff at a time saying Ize-Iyamu may end up as a liability for the party if he was retained as candidate. According to Sheriff, Ize-Iyamu’s involvement in the $155million Diezani Alison-Madueke campaign money scandal as the candidate was undergoing investigation. He added that Makarfi and his handlers might have unconsciously played into the hands of the APC. It was much later that INEC, acting on a separate court judgment, recognized Ize- Iyamu as the PDP candidate.

But while the two factions of the party were wittingly or unwittingly fighting, the APC was uncompromisingly campaigning in all the local government areas of Edo State. And during the main election, it was gathered that Obaseki was to greater extent only supported by those who had been with him from day one, while Sheriff and his supporters remained reluctant.

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