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Benin leaders differ over support for Jonathan

By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu (Benin City) and Charles Akpeji (Jalingo)
16 February 2015   |   8:33 pm
Taraba women group backs President THERE is division among leaders of Benin Kingdom over support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the coming election.    The Deputy Chairman of Labour Party (LP) and a Bini chief, Patrick Eholor Monday opposed the position of the Esogban of Benin, Chief David Edebiri, who last week said the Binis…

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Taraba women group backs President

THERE is division among leaders of Benin Kingdom over support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the coming election.

   The Deputy Chairman of Labour Party (LP) and a Bini chief, Patrick Eholor Monday opposed the position of the Esogban of Benin, Chief David Edebiri, who last week said the Binis would not vote for Jonathan because of the way he alleged former Minister of State for Works, Chris Ogienmwonyi was removed from office and instead his former wife, Stella Oduah, who is not from Edo State was appointed in his place.

   In a chat with journalists, the Esogban said, “what belonged to the Binis was taken to Anambra by the present administration. Is that why the Benin people will vote for the PDP? Besides robbing the Benin people of the ministerial appointment, the home of the former minister (Ogiemwonyi) was completely broken by the action of the presidency.

   “Is that what they have done for the Benin people that will make us to vote PDP, impossible. If they want to postpone elections 20 times the people are here waiting for them. The consequences of what Jonathan has done will be very grievous for him and his party. You met a man who was appointed half minister by previous administration, his people in Benin voted massively for you during the elections, you now want to compose a new executive, you dropped him and took his wife who comes from across the Niger.”

   Addressing a press conference in Benin City, Eholor, who is also a Bini chief differed when he said, “We cannot play politics with the palace. The palace is the palace, Edebiri is on his own. He cannot speak for the average Binis.”

    He accused Edebiri of acting the script of Governor Adams Oshiomhole. “We don’t play politics in the palace. We are kingmakers. We support whomever we want to vote for, but that is a private business. Edebiri has no right to say that they are going to punish Goodluck Jonathan with our votes because he denied Ogiemwonyi ministerial position. Let Ogiemwonyi come out himself.”

   He also said that the matter has nothing to do with his political affiliation: “politics is politics. We Binis have not concluded to vote for any party, whether I am a chieftain of Labour, PDP, APC, the Bini position must be neutral. So for him to come out now and try to mislead the people that the palace is playing partisan politics by supporting anybody, that is my concern in the whole matter.”

   Meanwhile, citing the appointment of about 13 females out of the 42 ministers, women in Taraba State have resolved to support the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan.

   They believed President Jonathan’s administration “is the only government that implemented gender policy that has resulted in increase in women representation in his cabinet.”

 Under the aegis of Heart-to-Heart for Jonathan, they observed that women representation has increased from 10 percent in 2011 to over 35 percent in 2013.”

   Led by it coordinator, Victoria Samari, the women who were from the 16 local councils of the state including Yangtu Development Area, stressed the need for women in the state to support the President in the forthcoming polls.

   They agreed that “with the appointment of 13 female ministers out of 42, representing 31 percent and four special advisers out of 18, representing 23 percent” hence the need for the people to discard politicians missing politics with religion.

   Stressing their readiness to reach out to eligible women in the state before the presidential polls, they agreed that, “these appointments have set the stage for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target on Gender Equity and Women Empowerment.”

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