One month and 25 days to the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, the candidates of the three major prominent political parties contesting the election – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP) – have intensified their campaigns but the eruption of violence in the process worry residents, MICHAEL EGBEJULE reports.
Ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo, recently launched his manifesto tagged, ‘Pathway to Prosperity for All’. The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata, told journalists during an interactive session earlier this month that he would be launching his manifesto before the end of August while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Monday Okpebholo, has not said anything in this regard.
However, the three candidates have been moving round the nooks and crannies of the state to sell their programmes to the electorate.
The PDP candidate, Ighodalo, has been personally explaining his manifesto and how he will implement it to critical stakeholders in the state, including various professional bodies, artisans, market women, community leaders and opinion leaders.
Akpata of the LP has also been traversing the state selling his programme to the electorate, while the state chapter of the APC has also been marketing Okpebholo to the people, describing him as “the man we sabi and a man with few words and lots of action.”
This appears to be a strategy by the APC to wave aside demands by critical stakeholders to hear from Okpebholo himself on how he intends to govern the state if given the opportunity. The APC governorship candidate has been in the habit of delegating his media consultant, Kassim Afegbua, or any APC chieftain, to speak on his behalf whenever the need arises.
Nevertheless, the introduction of violence into the electioneering process seems to be the major concern of Edo people at the moment. Beyond minor skirmishes and altercations in the past between the PDP, APC and LP, the violence that erupted penultimate Thursday at the Benin Airport Road axis of the state capital has raised the apprehension of residents. The violence led to the death of Inspector Akor Onuh, a police officer attached to Okpebholo; and has triggered a series of accusations and counter accusations between the PDP and APC.
A few days after the incident, the Edo State government alleged that well known APC thugs were involved in the shooting and released video footages to back up its claim. The government has also petitioned the Inspector General of Police over the incident and also published the names of those allegedly captured in the video in major national newspapers.
The APC has also petitioned the police, alleging the involvement of certain individuals.
As the parties await the outcome of police investigation on the matter, the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, berated the APC for “fruitlessly attempting” to drag Governor Godwin Obaseki over the comments made at a stakeholders meeting, on Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
Nehikhare said: “For the records, we want to restate the comments of the governor on that occasion which is that: ‘If a free and fair election is not allowed to hold sway in Edo State on September 21, 2024, it will trigger a major crisis in Nigeria.’”
The Edo chapter of the APC had urged the State House of Assembly (EDHA) to immediately commence impeachment proceedings on Obaseki for allegedly threatening to burn down the country if the candidate of his party loses the election.
The state chairman of the party, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, made the call in a statement while reacting to the comment of the governor regarding the shooting incident.
Observations by The Guardian showed that the PDP and APC seem determined to go to any length to win the election even if it demands throwing caution to the wind.
However, the LP has been concentrating on its campaign as its candidate is apparently pushing more than the others going by the massive media campaign on radio, television and print media to solicit Edo people’s support and votes. In the area of media campaign, only the PDP seems to be strongly competing with the LP.
As the election approaches, there are indications that majority of Edo people wants a governor that will be able to build on the reforms carried out by Obaseki in the areas of agriculture, land management that has now eliminated double sales of land by some notorious land grabbers, and e-governance that has enhanced ease of doing business in the state such that the people can access government services such as issuance of Certificate of Occupancy and Local Government Area of Origin from the comfort of their homes without visiting the government agency involved or giving tips to any government official for processing.However, where the pendulum would swing to would become clearer in the days and weeks to come.
