Edo State Governorship Race: PDP Faces Challenges Ahead

The General Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state, Hilary Otsu, has said Governor Godwin Obaseki will make the party lose next year’s gubernatorial election if he fields a candidate.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed Saturday, 21st September 2024, for the conduct of the Edo State governorship election.

The electoral body also announced Saturday, 16th November 2024, for the conduct of the Ondo state Governorship election.

The electoral body said the tenure of the Governors of Edo and Ondo States will end on 11th November 2024 and 23rd February 2025, respectively.

However, in a statement, Otsu lamented that Obaseki did not have the goodwill needed to promote an unpopular candidate in the state.

According to the PDP chieftain, most of the candidates Obaseki fielded during the 2023 general election were unknown, the reason the party suffered defeats at the hands of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP).

He noted that many political allies of Obaseki have affirmed they would not queue behind any stranger the governor fields to succeed him in the next election.

He said, “Legacy will nominate a governor and deputy of our choice, and PDP will become much stronger. Trust me, most of Governor Obaseki’s closest political allies have echoed it that Edo state will never accept another stranger to govern its people.

“Governor Obaseki does not have the kind of goodwill needed to promote an unknown stranger in Edo State. When Oshiomole did it with him, Oshiomole had optimal goodwill and acceptance. If Edo people are given a choice today, they will vote against any candidate that Governor Obaseki supports.

“I stand to be corrected but all the candidates fielded by Gov. Obaseki during the 2023 general elections were unpopular and most voters in their various constituencies were also aware of the illegal processes which brought them.

“So, many of the voters who followed all that transpired leading the emergence of Obaseki’s candidates worked and voted against them and most PDP supporters opted to work against the illegal candidates by supporting other candidates.

“That’s why you see that in many places they gave support to APC candidates and in some, to Labour candidates, leading to unprecedented victories for those Parties. For example PDP has never lost Edo Central and South Senatorial seats before, while a Labour candidate swept the Edo South Senate seat, after leaving PDP for Labour just a few months to the election.”