By Augustine Akhilomen

Ahead of the September governorship election in Edo State, there are growing fears within the ranks of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that the party may lose the election due to Governor Godwin Obaseki’s leadership style and his constant disagreement with leaders in the party.

Obaseki, who appears to have enjoyed successful control of the party after emerging governor in 2021, few weeks after leaving the All Progressives Congress (APC), under which banner he came to power in 2016, has dominated the political scene unchallenged.

Many observers believe the governor’s role in the emergence of Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the flagbearer of the party ahead of his deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, who had wanted to succeed him as governor, was an indication of his control of the structures of the party and his willingness to ensure that he nominates and sponsored his successor.

Also, many analysts are of the opinion that while the party has a good candidate in Asue Ighodalo, the major problem it seems to be having which might be an albatross in September is the governor himself, who critics have variously accused of working without carrying the party along. Some indeed are of the view that the party leaders are angry with him due to his handling of party issues and the way and manner he sidelined them in terms of appointments and awarding of contracts.

They therefore argued that if the various complaints are not adequately addressed before the elections it may adversely affect the chances of the party at the polls. While speaking with Thepledge, a political analyst, Segun Ajagbe, said Obaseki’s dictatorial attitude and poor relationship with some of the bigwigs in the party may cost Ighodalo the chance to be governor.

“Obaseki is one governor I so much respect due to his courage to fight for his rights and face off against the APC and their godfather, squarely to be re-elected governor in 2020. He was courageous enough to dump the APC and move to the PDP, where he won his re-election.

“However, he’s gradually moving away from the Obaseki that I know with his one-man riot kind of attitude, which is affecting the party internally. I am only sorry for Ighodalo because Obaseki’s attitude may affect his chances. Some of his party members may work against him.”

Few weeks ago, the former National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, declared that his faction will not support the governorship ambition of the PDP candidate, Ighodalo. Orbih also gave the party a snub ahead of the September 21 governorship election with his rejection of an appointment as a member of the governorship campaign council.

He said that no one had consulted him before his name was announced as a member of the council. “Nobody told me of any governorship campaign council membership in the Edo PDP. I am not aware of it.

“Some people who saw my name on the list called me. I have not seen the list, and I am not aware of it. I am not a party to the composition of the campaign council,” he said.

It would be recalled that Orbih, an ally of Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, is not on good terms with Governor Godwin Obaseki. Their disagreement stemmed from Obaseki’s takeover of the PDP structure in the state following his defection from the All Progressives Congress in 2020.

Even so, some members of the PDP in the state are not comfortable with and had expressed their reservations to what they described as Obaseki’s imposition of Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the party’s flag bearer in the governorship election. They have therefore vowed to work against the party in September if their demands are not met.

Meanwhile, a former Speaker of the Edo House of Assembly, Kabiru Adjoto, while also speaking on the governor’s abrasive attitude, stated that the PDP, under the leadership of Obaseki, could not manage the success of the victory in 2020.

The former speaker pledged to work with the Orbih-led PDP coalition in the forthcoming Edo governorship election while assuring that he and his supporters in Akoko-Edo LGA in Edo North Senatorial District were on the same page with Orbih’s legacy coalition.

Adjoto said: “Chief Dan Orbih, we have seen what you saw, and we are here to queue behind you. Anywhere you go, we will go. We are waiting for your instructions.”

For the APC, the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo during a rerun ordered by the party has left the party in disarray as Dennis Idahosa, who was announced the winner of the first election by the Governorship Primary Election Committee, is still laying claim to the ticket.

But then, watchers of Edo politics still are wondering if the party leaders are willing and sincerely ready to support Monday Okpebholo when the time comes. Some leaders of the APC indeed, believe Obaseki and Ighodalo have become desperate over fears that they will suffer a humiliating defeat in the upcoming governorship polls.

“Emperor Godwin Obaseki, the crisis-ridden PDP, and their novice candidate, Ighodalo, have decided to resort to cheap blackmail. They know that they will lose the election, and they are jittery.

“They are scouting for fake news and non-existent things to blackmail Okpebholo and lie to Edo people. Unfortunately for them, we know what they are up to. They are smelling the defeat already. The Edo people have already decided that no amount of state-sponsored intimidation will work.

“We have it on good authority that the faceless group was heavily induced financially by the Edo State Government. Let the state government deny the claims. The leaders of the group were bribed, Says Segun Odunbaji, a member of the APC in Edo.

Meanwhile, Labour Party, the third biggest party in the state is being inundated by his age-long leadership crisis at the national level. The crisis is threatening to throw spanners in the works of the party in the governorship election. The Chief Lamidi Apapa-led faction announced Anderson Uwadiae Asemota as its candidate ahead of the recognized party flagbearer, Olumide Akpata,.

It however remains to be seen if the LP has the financial strength and structures across the state to pull any form of surprise in the governorship election? The LP candidate’s campaign has not shown that the party has the capacity to challenge the dominance of PDP and APC. The party would need a state wide structure and resources to be able to do well at the polls.

As it is however, it will be premature to see Obaseki as a liability in the run off to the election. He’s still the governor and he has the resources to pour into the race to make his candidate competitive. There is even the likelihood that he may decide to reconcile with the aggrieved members of his party before the election. But he will be the biggest loser if he allows his ego to supersede his sense of reasoning by overlooking the dangers ahead.