THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) went into the Edo State governorship election burdened. Despite all attempts to close ranks, the party went into the election in factions and with aggrieved former aspirants. As the results trickled in on Saturday night, many party men wondered if the party went to battle with the right candidate.It was also observed that the party went into the contest faced with the task of how to defend its poor performance between 1999 and 2007 when Chief Lucky Igbinedion was governor. Ahead of the elections, Mr. Kenneth Imasuangbon, who lost to retired Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere had hoped that 'a PDP administration in 2012 will correct the mistakes of the past.' But last night, that hope sounded as hollow as the promise by the Vice President Namadi Sambo that the PDP will beat the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the incumbent Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole.Many people saw the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State coming. But some of its die-hard supporters and leaders were optimistic in spite of the performance of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.Even two-time governor of the state, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia recently told some party faithful that 'Oshiomhole is intelligent, smart and the people love him.'This statement played out yesterday morning people defied early morning rain to dance round the town and escorted the governor from the church where he had gone for thanksgiving to government.Incidentally, the PDP knew the need to close ranks ahead of the election. In October 2011, as it started to prepare on how to confront the CAN, the party claimed that it had ended its factional crisis after a meeting with stakeholders, former Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, the national leadership of the party at the instance of the presidency. The supposed outcome was that two-time governor of old Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia and former Chief of General Staff, Admiral Mike Akhigbe, backed the leadership of the party in the state led by Chief Dan Orbih.But in November 2011, amidst speculations of the resolution of the internal crisis in the PDP, Akhigbe and Ogbemudia disputed their support for the state executive of the party led by Orbih. While Anenih led one faction while Ogbemudia and Akhigbe led the other faction.While Ogbemudia said that, 'any factional activities and identity after the congresses held by PDP in the state is regarded as outdated and anachronistic,' Akhigbe's spokesman, Mr. Humphrey Uanseoje, said, 'considering the dimension of the crisis in the state PDP, it is not possible to resolve the issues in the absence of the principal actors and stakeholders. This group is not aware of any meeting or resolution of the long-standing crisis in the state PDP, let alone Akhigbe withdrawing as leader of a faction. Much as the group is willing and prepared for settlement, it must be settlement anchored on legal principles of justice, fairness and equity.'This group cannot and will not allow itself to be arm-twisted to an imposed settlement on the pages of newspapers. One point that needs clarification is the constant reference to this group as a faction, which to all intents and purposes is an offensive misrepresentation of facts. As a matter of fact, this group is the mainstream PDP in Edo, which emerged from the state congress held on February 28, 2008.'With the election looming, President Goodluck Jonathan met with key stakeholders of the Edo PDP with a view to uniting them for the governorship election.At the meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja were Anenih, Ogbemudia and Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin. The stakeholders according to sources discussed the real problem with the state party and resolved to close ranks and ensure victory for the party.Others at the meeting were Vice President Namadi Sambo, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, PDP National Secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, Minister of Works, Mike Oziegbe Onolememen, Airiahbvere and his running mate, Johnson Abolagba.Although, the state party chairman Chief Dan Orbih said the party needed a strong candidate to defeat Oshiomhole, the question many are asking with the benefit of hindsight is whether retired Army Major General retired Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere was the best candidate. Was the emergence of Airhiavbere the problem'Airhiavbere had in the February primary beat a strong field comprising former governor of the state, Professor Oserheimen Osunbor, lawyer and school proprietor, Imansuangbon, former presidential aide, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, and former Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly and ex-Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Commissioner, Mr. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.Imansuangbon, who lost the ACN governorship ticket for the 2007 election to Oshiomhole under controversial circumstances, had returned to the PDP to work for to wait for an opportunity to beat Oshiomhole. He kicked off his campaign in 2007 and with his personal resources brought life and dignity to the PDP at a time the party was in disarray. His activities gave the party a semblance of unity.After the emergence of Airhiavbere, the other aspirants, Imansuangbon, Ihonvbere and Osunbor protested by walking out of the venue before Airhiavbere was declared winner. It was apparent that the outcome of the primary had further split the already fragmented party. And Oshiomhole cashed on it as he visited the aggrieved in turns. Imansuangbon described the visit as private and not an effort to persuade him to move over to the ACN.At one time, it was suggested that Airhiavbere and Imasuangbon should be on the same ticket. But that idea was killed instantly considering the question of who will be the running mate.Has the latest victory of the ACN retired the 78-year-old Anenih from active politics in Edo' The strong man of PDP politics had asked fellow party members to leave the five councils in Edo Central, his home zone, for him to tackle. He promised to deliver the zone to the PDP. No one could dispute that considering that he delivered Senator Ugbesia Odion Magnus and Senator Uzamere Ehigie Edobor and only two of the 11 House of Representatives seats in last year's National Assembly elections. Anenih narrowed the contest to the 13 councils of Edo North and South. According to him, the contest will be in the 13 councils of Edo North and South. Edo has 18 councils. He could not repeat the feat when he returned Senator Ugbesia Odion Magnus to the senate last year when the ACN won the other two seats in the state. He lost in his strategy as the ACN unmasked him even in his backyard.For Anenih, the political empire he had built over the years in Edo might have just crumbled. In the politics of the Second Republic, Anenih was the state chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the then Bendel State. He helped the party defeat the then incumbent governor, the late Professor Ambrose Ali of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) to install Ogbemudia.In the politics of the Third Republic, he was the national chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) when the party won the annulled 1993 presidential election.Since 1999, his political machinery was a major determinant to the emergence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as president and the emergence of Igbinedion as Governor of Edo alongside several governors of the South-South and in other parts of the country. Anenih was regarded as a phenomenon, and for that he earned the tag, 'Mr. Fix It.'He determined even who became a councilor. His word was law among his party faithful and his Uromi country home was a Mecca for politicians.However, Oshiomhole and the ACN have changed all that. Oshiomhole rubbed it in as he said: 'No matter what anybody does, something must retire him. So to me, it is the people that matter in whatever I do. They had boasted they will capture everywhere but we now know whom the people of Edo have captured.'I congratulate the people of Edo for being able, perhaps for the first time to express their choice for governor without the issue of violence that has characterised election in the state since 2003 and 2007. In a genuine democracy, the people are the winners to the extent that the winner is their choice. They have shown that never again will anybody who did not win any election be declared a winner.'The National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said ACN's victory was 'dedicated to the commitment and determination of the entire citizens of the state who trooped out to vote and were prepared to defend their votes. This is an indication that Nigerians have now become politically conscious and aware.'According to him, what happened in Edo is a lesson those who 'regard themselves as gods of politics in the country that people are now more informed. The myths about political godfather are dying.'He said in a situation where the PDP candidate, the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadhome and Anenih lost in their wards is a confirmation that the PD has been rejected in Edo.'Mohammed also claimed that the 'electorate actually voted for the achievements and the development Oshiomhole has made in the state in the last four years.'Meanwhile, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Ebenezer Babatope said the people of the state have given their verdict through the ballot 'and there is nothing anybody could about that. It was a free, fair and peaceful election, which has shown that Nigerians are capable of going to the polls and elect whosoever that they want on their own.'While congratulating the people of Edo, Babatope flayed Oshiomhole in the mindless manner he criticized the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attaihiru Jega. Babatope said: 'I think we should be patience and also try to choose our words very well. Oshiomohole was harsh on the leader of INEC.'Oshiomhole said: 'I was very hard on INEC because I felt and I remain convinced that INEC cannot be excused from the delivery of voting materials to places in the state at a time fixed by them. This is because this is a state election and materials left CBN at midday on Friday. The REC demonstrated an uncommon quality of leadership even when under pressure, he maintained his cool.'There were discordant tunes in the PDP camp. While Babatope said that the defeat of PDP should not be seen as the end of the party, but 'a lesson as we are going to correct our mistakes and come back powerfully during the next election,' a chieftain of PDP, who pleaded anonymity said, 'ACN's victory is a vindication of the position of many us. We lost the election at our party primary.'According to the chieftain, 'the party lost when the godfather introduced ethnicity, which prevented the aspirant we all believed would have led us to victory from contesting.'Airhiavbere is neither known nor popular in Benin, even in his ward. PDP therefore went to the polls with a 'lame candidate.' Added to that were the factions within the rank and file of the party prior to the election.'It was learnt that most of the aggrieved aspirants eventually worked against the party or chose to remain indifferent to the election.The celebrations started long before Professor Godwin Oshodin, the Returning Officer declared Oshiomhole winner. Market women who had anticipated Oshiomhole's victory had positioned in strategic places with bales of brooms for sale. At market stalls in the Aduwawa the brisk buying and selling of brooms was one of the immediate gains from the victory for market women area.At INEC headquarters at Aduwawa, hundreds of broom wielding men and women danced and even went shook hands with armed security personnel.The victory of ACN has thrown Benin City into frenzy. As they youths jubilated, sang and chanted, observers said they were looking forward to 'more projects. We did not just vote based on tribal sentiment but what we saw that the party had achieved.'The waterfall at Ring Road, Benin City rose and fell in a joyous movement, providing a poster background to the outpouring of ecstasy expressed by the voters.Cars, lorries, rickshaws with their horns provided a noisy followership to the sirens of the governor's convoy. Intermittently, fireworks rent the air, just as a branded ACN campaign vehicle provided music. One of the songs urged the people to sweep away the PDP, to which the crowd responded by sweeping the ground around them. Overloaded vehicles sped dangerously around, with excited youths hanging and dangling on bonnets.The celebrations became wilder when the governor's convoy inched its way towards Ring Road at about 8:15 pm Clad in his brown khaki shirt, trouser and a branded ACN branded hat, the governor pumped shook the hands of almost everyone.The joy was that the vote of the people counted. Those who spoke to The Guardian, talked of the trauma of waiting for the courts and how it is 'certain we will not see that this time around.'At some point in this parade of ecstasy what was described as the divine stamp sealing the victory came in the form of a mild rain, which later gained intensity. The rain soaked both the governor and the crowd. Nonetheless, the people danced, sang and waved their brooms, as the 'showers of blessing' came tumbling down. Many in the crowd interpreted the rain as a sign that, even the elements were in agreement with the people in the momentous and historic decision they have made.The victory dance continued to the Government House, where at the gate, a banner bearing the picture of Oshiomhole's slain private secretary, Olaitan Oyerinde served as a reminder of the cost of the victory. After managing to get away from the hundreds of celebrants that were bent on turning the Government House into yet another venue for an immediate victory party, Oshiomhole addressed a press conference, attended by over 300 journalists.
Click here to read full news..
