Today,
seven candidates are contesting the Dennis Osadebay Government House
seat as the electorate go to the polls in Edo State.
The seven candidates eyeing the coveted
seat are Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria; Maj.-Gen.
Charles Airhiavbere (retd.) of the Peoples Democratic Party; Solomon
Edebiri (All Nigeria Peoples Party); Izevbuwa Roland (Congress for
Progressive Change); Andrew Igwemoh (Labour Party); Mr. Paul Orumwense
(National Conscience Party); and Frank Onaiv (Social Democratic Mega
Party).
However, all eyes will be on three candidates: Oshiomhole, Airhiavbere and Edebiri because of their antecedents.
But practically, the race is between the
incumbent governor and the PDP candidate. However, there is a man,
whose name is not on the ballot paper, but has a lot at stake as far as
the election is concerned.
To a former Chairman, PDP Board of
Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, the result of the poll will determine his
political future. Although he is not a candidate, his heart beat will be
very fast today.
Anenih: Struggling for political survival
The Uromi-born politician is not a
stranger to Nigerian politics. He is not a man to quiver because of
elections as he is a veteran, who has seen many polls in the country.
His sojourn into the Edo State politics
started in 1981, when he was the state Chairman of the National Party of
Nigeria. In 1983, he was instrumental to the victory of Dr. Samuel
Ogbemudia, who defeated the Unity Party of Nigeria’s candidate, Prof.
Ambrose Alli.
In 1993, the retired police officer was
the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party. He was hovering
around the late Chief Moshood Abiola, who won the 1993 presidential poll
that was annulled by former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
Since the country’s return to democracy
in 1999, Anenih has been in the limelight. The Esan chief was said to
have masterminded former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s declaration for a
second term in 2002 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. He
even served as deputy National Coordinator of Obasanjo’s Campaign
Organisation during the 1999 and 2003 elections.
Because of his penchant for delivering
assignments that others consider unachievable in the PDP, Anenih was
nicknamed, Mr. Fix It.
But since Oshiomhole’s advent into Edo
politics, the ex-BOT chairman has been swallowing bitter pills of
defeat. Four years ago, the governor he installed in Edo State, Prof.
Oserhiemen Osunbor, was thrown out of the Government House by a court
verdict. In the 2011 elections, his party lost many national and state
assembly seats in Edo.
For today’s poll, Anenih has been very
meticulous in his planning and he has deployed everything in his arsenal
to ensure victory for PDP.
He was said to have single-handedly
fished out Airhiavbere, who has just left the Army. Despite the bashings
he and his party have been receiving, as well as the endorsements the
governor has got, Anenih has remained confident. “As long as you
mobilise and vote PDP, we will win. I am sure that come July 14, PDP
will rule Edo,” he had boasted at a campaign. When Edo people queue to
vote today, one thing will be at the back of Anenih’s mind: His
political survival.
Airhiavbere: Banking on godfathers’ backing
No doubt, Charles Airhiavbere is a good product and the PDP has been selling him to the Edo electorate.
The 57-year-old retired general served in the Nigeria Army for 35 years.
He was said to be the architect of electronic pay system (e-NAPS), which transformed the budgeting process in the Nigeria Army.
The permutation of the PDP and Anenih is
that Airhiavbere, being a Benin man, will be able to win votes in Edo
South (Benin), which controls the majority of votes in the state.
What analysts also consider as a plus
for the PDP candidate is peace that has been restored to the party.
Before the governorship race started, Anenih and a PDP chief and former
governor of the old Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, had been working
at cross purposes.
But President Goodluck Jonathan has been
able to settle the rift between the men, who are now struggling for the
success of the PDP in the state.
Besides Anenih and Ogbemudia, many
bigwigs in the PDP, including a multi-millionaire, Chief Gabriel
Igbinedion; his son and former governor, Lucky, and Ugbesia, are
supporting Airhiavbere.
All of them are political giants. So,
Oshiomhole is not battling Airhiavbere today. The incumbent also has the
retired general’s godfathers to contend with.
Oshiomhole: Counting on people’s power
As the PDP chiefs perfect their plans to
win back Edo State, their major headache remains Oshiomhole. Their
strategy on ethnic configuration seems to have hit the dead end.
If their plan succeeds, the Bini would
vote against the governor. But the party members need no seer to tell
them that the strategy will not work.
The most powerful traditional ruler in
the state, Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba Erediauwa, has not hidden his
preference for the ex-labour leader.
He has publicly endorsed him. Also, a
prominent chief and Esogban of Benin Kingdom, David Edebiri, has
proclaimed Oshiomhole as the candidate of the Bini.
Traditional chiefs of Esan, where Mr.
‘Fix It’ comes from, have also declared their support for the governor.
There have been torrents of endorsements for the candidature of the
ex-labour leader.
Those who are backing the governor
include an-ex governor of Edo State, Chief John Oyegun, labour leaders,
and Osunbor, who was displaced by Oshiomhole from the Government House
four years ago.
“If we have a governor, who is
developing the state, why should we complain? The reason I am in
politics is to touch the people,” the PDP governorship candidate in the
2007 poll was reported to have said.
Oshiomhole has wormed himself into the
hearts of Edo people with achievements. These achievements have been his
most sellable points.
If the support he has got and achievements are anything to go by, Oshiomhole should be able to clinch his second term today.
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