How Obaseki’s Many Controversies Terminated Ighodalo’s Dream of Governing Edo

Political analysts have dissected the just concluded Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State, saying that Governor Godwin Obaseki contributed largely to the defeat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the keenly contested Saturday 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State.

Okpebholo was declared the Edo State Governor Elect with 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 247,274 and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,761 votes.

Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than the three frontline candidates.

Edo is one of the eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements. Others are Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo.

X-raying the poll, some political analysts argued that Obaseki created many enemies for himself before the election and that his political enemies cashed on the election to pay him back.

According to an analyst, Ibe Orji, in an interview with Investors King, Obaseki’s feud with Philip Shaibu robbed the governor’s anointed candidate the chance of occupying Osadebe House in the state.

Orji said, “There are many factors that made PDP lost the election on Saturday. Out of these reasons, Governor Godwin Obaseki shared major part of them. His number one sin is that he forced his former Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu out of his government. No real political strategist would do that when you know the elections are just a few months ahead.

“If you have also been monitoring events in Edo State, you would know that former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomole had sworn to pay Obaseki back in his coin. The Wike factor is also against him because Obaseki is one of the governors who tackled the Minister of FCT in his battle with his successor, Sim Fubara.”

Also speaking in an interview with Investors King, a political analyst, John Dreck, disclosed that the face-off between Obaseki and the traditional institution in the state would have counted against his candidate.

However, Okpebholo, the Edo Central Senator, leveraged significant influence in his senatorial district, and joined forces with his colleague in the National Assembly from Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, to defeat Ighodalo, the anointed candidate of the outgoing governor.

Okpebholo’s victory could also be attributed to his alliance with Dennis Idahosa, his running mate who is a federal lawmaker; and Obaseki’s estranged deputy, Philip Shaibu.

The declaration on Sunday evening brings Okpebholo closer to achieving his goal of becoming governor of the state and places his party, the APC, on the cusp of a return to power at the Dennis Osadebe Government House.

The APC lost power in the state in 2020 after the incumbent, Godwin Obaseki, defected from the party to the PDP in the heat of an intra-party squabble and fallout with his predecessor, Oshiomhole. After he was denied the APC governorship ticket, Obaseki joined the PDP and clinched the ticket to defeat APC’s Osagie Ize-Iyamu to seal his second term which will end on November 12, 2024.

Obaseki campaigned strongly for Ighodalo, while Oshiomhole was a focal figure for Okpebholo’s campaign, attending rallies and interviews on behalf of the APC candidate.

Okpebholo was declared winner of Saturday’s election amid protests by supporters of the PDP who strongly posited that the results were fabricated and did not represent the will of the people.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the governor-elect and asked him not to gloat over his victory but see it as a challenging call to service.

The President asked those who feel aggrieved to approach the court for redress.