December 10, (THEWILL) – The race for Governor Godwin Obaseki’s successor at Dennis Osadebay Avenue is steadily heating up as more aspirants have declared their intention to run for the seat of the number one citizen in Edo State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has fixed party primaries for February 2024. One party that has begun preparation for the election in Edo State is the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP released its time-table for the election a few weeks ago. The time table which was signed by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, was released after a joint meeting of the Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee of the party at its headquarters in Abuja.
According to the time-table, the party’s congress in which its governorship candidate in the Edo governorship election will emerge will be held on February 22, 2024.
PDP had also informed that aspirants interested in contesting the governorship election will get the nomination form for N21 million, while youths aged between 25 and 30 will get a 50 per cent discount on the nomination form fees.
According to the schedule of activities, the registration of old and new members will be held between November 16 and December 7.
December 14, 2023 is the last date for submission of ward register to the Directorate of Organisation and Mobilisation, while stakeholders’ consultative meeting with the National Working Group will hold between December 19 and 20.
The sale of expression of interest and ad-hoc forms for all offices is scheduled to take place between January 10 and 16, while January 17 is the last day for the submission of the completed expression of interest and ad-hoc forms.
The screening of aspirants for the governorship seat by the National Working Committee will hold on January 18, 2024.
The sale of the nomination forms to aspirants who completed and submitted their expression of interest form is scheduled to start from January 19 and end January 25, while January 27 is the last date for submission of completed nomination forms.
February 22 is for the governorship primary election, while February 24 is for the appeal on the election.
As aspirants on the platform of the party are coming out in large numbers, two aspirants stand out for now. They are a Lagos-based economist and banker, Asue Ighodalo and the Deputy Governor of the state, Phillip Shaibu.
Ighodalo, co-founder of Banwo and Ighodalo, a prominent corporate and commercial law firm in Nigeria, is aiming for the governorship of Edo State.
Ighodalo, it was gathered, had resigned from his positions as Chairman of Nigerian Breweries and Sterling Bank in preparation for his political pursuit. This is in compliance with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) announcement, marking the schedule for the Edo State governorship election on September 12, 2024.
He is believed to be the favourite candidate of the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Ighodalo had in a social media post on November 29, 2023, invited Edo citizens to engage in discussions on the current state of Edo and its future.
While expressing his vision, Ighodalo emphasised the need to tackle poverty and hardship through strategic planning focused on crucial sectors, such as education, technology, healthcare, agriculture and security. He also called for unity and trust between leaders and the populace for the state’s advancement.
He said “All my life, I’ve pursued excellence through hard work, persistence, and teamwork. Today, I am excited to invite you to join me in honest conversations about Edo State; where we are, and what our vision for the future of our state is.”
Ighodalo’s aspirations are rooted in the belief that collaborative effort can eliminate poverty and overcome current challenges by directing investments towards education, technology, infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, security, and human capital development. He emphasised the critical need to rebuild trust between leaders and citizens to unlock Edo State’s true potential.
Asue Ighodalo has declared that he is a “true Esan boy”, an indigene of Edo Central District of the state.
He stated this while addressing his kinsmen, in response to critics who said he is not a ‘home boy’, but a ‘Lagos Boy’.
Speaking in front of his family home in Ewohimi, Esan South East Local Government Area of the state through an interpreter, he said, “I do things in Esanland because we are not noisy. My brother is here and I am here. Our parents are here. I am a true Esan boy, I am not going to use home boy because they have used it badly. I am an Esan Boy.
“I am a true Esan boy. I am a true Edo boy. I am a true Nigerian. That is what I am. Since 2008, I have been in the economic team of the state, starting from the Adams Oshiomhole Administration. Since Godwin Obaseki came in as Chairman of the Economic Team, I have been coming to Edo state to support and advise the government.
“I have been advising since 2008, which is 15 years ago, which means that I came into the state, five, six, so many times a year for government business, not to talk about my own business. So, people can say what they like.
“Because we are not noisy, and because we are not jumping from one ‘mama put’ to another, does not mean I am not a true Edo boy”.
Another aspirant on the ticket of the party is the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, who penultimate Monday formally entered the 2024 governorship race in the state.
Shaibu is going into the race determined to confront his principal and Governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki who is not in support of his ambition.
He alluded to his political travails in the last couple of months, especially and declared that he remained unbowed, even as he forged ahead against the unfavourable disposition of his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Addressing his supporters at the Bishop Kelly Pastoral Central, the new venue, Shaibu said that despite his present predicament, his antecedents in the struggle for democracy were part of the propelling factors for him to move on to actualise his ambition.
Describing himself as “100 percent Home Boy”, an allusion to the clamour that the next governor of the state must be someone who knows the state very well, and not someone ‘imported’, a veiled reference to the touted candidate of Governor Obaseki, Asue Ighodalo,
Opposition to Ighodalo has been fueled by claims that he is unknown in Edo State, a narrative that Shaibu has since advanced by declaring himself the homeboy who does not need to learn the ropes of governance by being familiar with the nook and cranny of the state.
Shaibu hinged his campaign on five pillars of infrastructural development, economic diversification, education and sports.
Others are skills development and job creation, healthcare, social welfare system, agriculture, rural development, poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, and transparent governance.
He said that while working closely with Governor Godwin Obaseki in the past seven years, a solid foundation for progress had been laid in the state.
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