The Edo State polity had been mired in the capture of deception and needless crisis. This has badly impacted against urbane politicking and good governance.

There had been impropriety and renegade politics, thus reducing to scantiness the bountiful dividends the people had reaped from the eventful eight years stay of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Dr. Pius Odubu, as governor and deputy governor, respectively.

There is hardly kudos and no substantial gains by the four plaguing years when Mr. Godwin Obaseki, with Hon Philip Shaibu, his deputy, assumed power. The duo had wasted the goodies and public trust bequeathed to them.

Consequently, Edo people are the butt of the crisis induced by Mr. Obaseki, as they now seek for a replacement and enduring solutions to the problems, through another chance to elect a capable governor and his deputy, to turn things better.

So therefore, it is imperative that most of the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the general voters be reinforced in their existing and common understanding that Dr. Odubu needed to be picked as a consensus candidate, amongst the APC aspirants and subsequently voted in as governor.

The emphasis on Odubu as choice by consensus and to win the election, with APC, is rightly informed by the fact that the opposition parties, especially the People’s Democracy Party (PDP), are not well placed to win. While the voters are still wary of PDP over its past maladministration, the rest opposition parties are not rooted in the polity to be able to deliver a governor.

Instructively, the choice of Dr. Odubu as APC’s consensus candidate is well-informed and most feasible for several reasons.

In this trying period of the Covid 19 pandemic, Edo APC may not be able to stand the rigours and hazards of organizing a primaries. More so, a consensus is less expensive and stress free.

Being the second-in-command of the immediate past era of Adams Oshiomhole, that the people still yearn for, because it had performed creditably, it is in good order that he steps into the vacant shoes.

As Oshiomhole’s deputy and a great contributor to the eight years of its acclaimed solid achievements, indicates that he already has the needed statecraft to continue with the good legacy of that era, which Mr. Obaseki failed to reenact.

Apart from having the relevant vast experience, Dr. Odubu’s academic qualifications and worthiness in legislation, jurisprudence, political party administration, local community governance etc. stands him a shoulder higher.

He had a first degree in Political Science, which gives him perfect understanding of democracy and politics. He fills the leadership vacuum of Edo APC, where the former leader, Adams Oshiomhole, had moved up to be the National Chairman. Odubu’s leadership is glaring and authentic, Mr. Obaseki caused unwarranted divisions and crisis in the Edo APC hierarchy.

Odubu, is much more a rallying symbol and the hope of the party. He served as the only rallying point for APC members when Obaseki unleashed terror on them and led the movement to rescue the party. Such a man who has shown great capacity to challenge the incumbent governor and rally both human and financial resources towards ensuring the party is saved deserves to be rewarded with the ticket of the party on a consensus basis.

And in the general election, the choice of Odubu would be APC’s best winning streak, since he is the most popular aspirant who have support base in the various opposition parties of PDP and others, as well as the civil society and individuals, who would give him bulk and widespread votes. I

In the 2006 APC’s primaries, where Mr. Obaseki was declared winner, though with counter claims of it been rigged, Odubu came second; obviously meaning that he could have won the primaries. Apart from one of the present APC aspirants, who decamped from another party, of recent, most of the others did participated in that primaries.

In the said primaries, the Odubu’s aspiration was seen as a main threat and the one to beat, as was seen from the numerous bodily attacks meted out to his supporters, by none than the same duo of Mr. Obaseki and Hon Philip Shaibu, the same way they now try to harass other aspirants out of the race.

Dr. Odubu is gentle, easy going and would be a trusted governor, as he wouldn’t hunt or maltreat APC members and the public the way Mr. Obaseki had done. The truth is that if Odubu gets the ticket today 90% of people serving in Obaseki’s government today will resign to support him because they have worked together before and enjoys great public sympathy.

Dr Odubu, indeed, is a more stable and approachable personality as he is a reconcilable personality, who readily forgives those who wronged him. For instance, this is reflective in his forgiveness to those who stopped him from being governor in 2006 and becoming NDDC boss, of recent.

Finally, it is also worthy to note that Odubu seems to have the capacity to mobilise financial resources for the election. The man is blessed but does not make noise of his financial worth. As a former legislature, many of his colleagues and friends who are governors today or holding key position will surely rally round him.

He was a deputy governor for 8 years and many of his colleagues are now governors and they will never abandon him. As the Director of Legistics, to President Buhari, he has very good contact and relation with many persons at the Presidency. I am reliably aware that some very wealthy business men have shown their readiness to support his election. Infact, one of them who happens to be my class mate told me on phone few days ago that he will personally drop N2Billion if Odubu is nominated as the flag bearer of APC.



*Oshiomah Afe Momoh, a founding member of APC writes from Auchi*