₦airaland Forum

Asue Ighodalo
Quite a few factors are going well for the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo. These include his pedigree and sound education. A lawyer, economist, and head of various blue-chip companies, with eloquence and the ability to sell his manifesto, “Pathway to Prosperity For All”, Ighodalo stands out from the rest.

Again, a majority of Edo people in the Diaspora have thrown their weight behind Ighodalo. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), too, as well as traders and other professionals have followed suit.

Additionally, his native Esan people have resolved to stand by their own. To them, the Okpebholo axis of Edo Central district had taken the senate position and, therefore, cannot take the governorship, in addition. They hold the view that the Ighodalo axis should take the governorship for balance of power.

Another factor in favour of Ighodalo is the choice of his running mate, Osarodion Ogie, who appears to command staggering followership across the three senatorial districts of the state and have friends across the parties.

Unfortunately, two issues stand stoutly against his aspiration. One is the much-touted federal might, which though has been dismissed repeatedly, but may be relied on by the opposition party. The other factor is the political disposition of his leader and benefactor, Godwin Obaseki, which many consider undesirable.

Ighodalo’s association with Obaseki may constitute a minus for him. It is why some people have likened his candidacy to a continuation of Obaseki’s administration. For these people, stopping Ighodalo is akin to stopping Obaseki, irrespective of the development that the Obaseki administration has brought to the state and the bold vision articulated by Ighodalo in his manifesto.

Olumide Akpata;
Also a lawyer and former president of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata is well-read and a good choice by his party. He, too, parades a robust manifesto, titled, “My Pact With Edo People.” Coming from a zone that has the highest number of registered voters, up to 58 per cent, more than the other two districts put together, Akpata may ride on the popularity of his party and its performance in the 2023 general election, which enabled it to snatch a senatorial seat from PDP and APC.

But Akpata’s number one disadvantage may be the consensus reached by a majority of the Edo elite to yield power to the central zone, which has not tasted the governorship since the Fourth Republic, except for Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor, who governed for 18 months before the courts nullified his mandate in favour of Adams Oshiomhole in 2008.

Unlike PDP and APC, which have known political figures as running mates, the LP deputy governorship candidate, Alhaji Yusuf Asamah Kadiri, SAN, is largely unknown in the political artery of Edo State. It is doubtful if he can muscle votes for the LP ticket. Kadiri suffers the same plague as Akpata. Both are outsiders in the politics of Edo, and are largely seen as trying to take votes away from PDP, which, unfortunately, may help APC.

Monday Okpebholo
Though the APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo, is not a political neophyte, and he can leverage some political experience, especially as a senator, he also has the backing of the ruling party at the centre, with its federal might.

Okpebholo equally has to his advantage some very good campaign managers, who do the talking for him and have boasted about how they would explore federal might to his advantage.

Despite those advantages, Okpebholo appears to lack depth and the gravitas to run a state in this day and age. Both his age and the age of his ideas appear to be out of tune with reality. Talk about articulation, eloquence, grasp and knowledge of issues, he is in a different realm – a total write-off, many have argued.

It is no wonder that he has been dodging debates – either in the print or electronic media. That he is from the same senatorial district as the PDP candidate is another disadvantage, because he may likely split votes with Ighodalo.