Idahosa better positioned to win, entrench good governance in Edo

By; Friday Osaro Aghedo

The forthcoming Edo governorship election will be a decisive one not just for the people, but for the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well.

Prior to the state’s 2020 governorship election that ushered in Godwin Obaseki for a second term in office, Edo had always been under the government at the centre until Obaseki defected to the opposition party in the state and the federal; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While the PDP reduced states under the control of the APC, the party that is now the opposition since 2020 in the state had also not found it easy with politics at the local level.

With the outcome of the recently conducted local government election across the 18 council areas, the APC woes were compounded despite the party’s good outing during the 2023 general elections.

The APC currently has nine members from the available 13 in the National Assembly (NASS).

As the party’s primary to decide who flies the its ticket for the governorship election draws nearer, the saying on everyone’s lips is “who is best suited to fly the APC ticket?”, especially against Obaseki that is hell-bent on installing his “expatriate” successor.

As at the last count, the state opposition party parades no fewer than 26 aspirants whose capacity and abilities to fly the party’s ticket is not in doubt.

However, the question is, “how many of them have the ability and capacity to win the main election against Obaseki who will be throwing all into the ring like he did in 2020?”.

Truth be told, one or two of them that would have made the difference besides Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, have lost their goodwill and will be difficult to sell haven had the opportunities before.

Political contestation is all about winning and only those who possess the winning wand are often thrown forward by parties to slug it out with the opponents.

Since his sojourn into political contestation, Idahosa has developed the winning formula that made him wrestle his federal constituency (Ovia) from the powerful Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.

Following Esama’s second defeat in 2023, political pundits have asked how he (Idahosa) managed to terminate the dominance of Igbinedion in Ovia politics.

The February 25, 2023 House of representatives election was particularly a tough one as Idahosa was up against not just the Esama of Benin but the entire machinery of the state led by the Governor Godwin Obaseki himself and the “Obidient” movement.

Prior to the 2023 general elections, Idahosa’s rating among political actors and indeed the citizens of the state across the 18 council areas have become just like Davido popular hit song “unavailable”

His unbelievable performance within four years in office became a reference point and also a yardstick for measuring that of other political office holders across the state and beyond.

Idahosa is not just  only good at winning elections, his passion at providing good governance is second to none and it is particularly needed now that good governance has departed Edo this past eight years.

Conclusively, for the state opposition APC to avoid the pitfall of before, the party leadership should go for someone with an unblemished or no controversial record, someone with political spread and one who has a record of performance.

Friday Osaro AGHEDO writes from Ovia south west LGA, Benin, Edo state.