Governor Godwin Obaseki’s entry into the opposition Peoples Democratic Party , last Friday, decreased the number of states under the control of the governing All Progressives Congress´ control of states in the federation.
The implication of this shrinking hold of the APC is that party has lost traction and public goodwill due to the creeping lack of cohesion in its structure. Obaseki, who had kept Nigerians guessing about his next move after quitting APC, quietly drove out of the Government House, Benin City, on Friday, at 2:25pm, headed for the PDP Secretariat in the state.
The National Vice Chairman, South-south of the PDP, Chief Emmanuel Ogidi, received the governor in the company of the PDP State Chairman, Mr. Anthony Aziegbemi and other party executives, including the governor’s ward chairman. Yet, feeling that some mischief was afoot, including subterranean plots to try impeachment, Obaseki decided to adopt self-preservation and confrontational manoeuvers.
Oba Ewuare, had in a statement by the secretary, Benin Traditional Council, Mr. Frank Irabor, declared the palace’s stance against the imposition of candidates at the expense of the people’s choice and exploitation of the poor masses. It became obvious that 14 deserters enjoyed the support of suspended national chairman, as they were quartered in Abuja at his expense and those of the Edo Peoples Movement .
Now, with Obaseki’s exit from APC and berth in PDP, there are strong indications that the 14 seats, which were earlier declared vacant by the Speaker, Hon. Francis Okiye, could become open for another contest in a by-election to give PDP some presence in the legislature. Those in that school of thought contend that the governor and his deputy were surreptitiously disorganising Edo State APC in a clever design to raise an empire of their own bereft of opposition and correction.
Critics of the Obaseki administration said that apart from the skewed inauguration of the state Assembly in June 2019, the governor also employed parliamentary subterfuge by using his stooges in the Assembly to sack 12 out of the 15 lawmakers-elect in mid December 2019, in the guise that having not been inaugurated, the elected representatives could not make the 180 siting days as stipulated by the 1999 constitution as amended.
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