BY: Lucky Kenedy
With the major political parties throwing their tickets open, the Edo Central, which has been calling for the zoning of the governorship ticket to the area, faces a stiff battle.
WHEN political calculations and permutations were being done eight months ago in Edo State, no one would have thought that the Esan agenda which gained prominence and was aimed at producing the next governor of the state from the Edo Central senatorial zone, would suffer a setback.
The call to zone the ticket to the senatorial district by all the leading political parties gained ground as a socio-cultural group, Esan Okpa Initiative, led the way.
The call was not out of place considering that the zone had only tasted power for 18 months since the Fourth Republic began in 1999 when Professor Oserhimen Osunbor was booted out by the court to pave the way for the emergence of Comrade Adam Oshiomhole in 2008.
The call won many admirers who felt that for equity, justice, and fairness, the zone should produce the next governor.
With this, many politicians from the zone threw their hats in the ring with some aspirants moving to other parties to boost their chances of emerging candidates and eventually becoming the governor.
The Public Relations Officer of Esan Okpa Initiative, Tony Iyare, a former Commissioner under Oshiomhole, had told the Press eight months ago that the zone was speaking to Edo South and Edo North people to ensure that they support the Edo Central’s bid to produce the next governor of the state.
According to Iyare, a mobilization and contact committee made up of 24 members and headed by the President of the group and pioneer speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Mathew Egbadon, was also set up to meet with leaders of the major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, Labour Party, traditional rulers, and women to actualize this dream.
In a strong move to put the best hands forward, the zone listed criteria that the aspirants must meet to enjoy overwhelming support to succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki who will complete his second term in 2024.
Despite this lofty idea by the group, Gideon Ikhine, who is also from the zone had a different view and should be credited as the man who saw tomorrow.
In an interview with The Press after he ended his 24 years sojourn in the PDP and moved to the APC, he warned that the idea might not see the light of the day as the right thing to do was to have an Edo State agenda to make Esan man the next governor of the state.
