Gale of Defections Ahead Edo 2024 Guber

Gale of Defections Ahead Edo 2024 Guber

        ...issues? Same old story

By: Oriaifoh Godwins

As Edo state prepares for the 2024 governorship race, the defections from one party to another, particularly from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Labour Party, LP, in Edo state, is not only worrisome, but also questionable. 

Gideon Ikhine, Kenneth Imasuagbon, and recently, Arch. Mike Onolememen, are the big names in the PDP that readily comes to mind that have defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Labour Party respectively, while as at the time of writing this piece, Arch. Onolememen hasn’t yet declared the party he is going to pitch his tent with, but many people are insinuating it is most likely going to be the APC.

Many of the defectors have cited several reasons for their exodus from the PDP; but for some of us that have been following developments in the political atmosphere in Edo state, we know for sure that those defections are due to nothing other than for their selfish, self-centered, greedy and insatiable appetite for primitive accumulation of wealth, that has in time past, led to the looting of our commonwealth, continuous imbalances between the rich and the poor and deplorable condition of our infrastructures, all at the expense of the poor masses that unfortunately continue to clap for these so called leaders.

Many of those that have defected, and may still defect (possibly out of the PDP) are doing so because their personal expectations of ‘sucking’ Edo economy were not met. Governor Godwin Obaseki tightened the noose, and made it impossible for them to continue in the old order. 

When Obaseki first defected from APC to the PDP, we all witnessed how these same people celebrated him to high heavens, thinking: “now, we are in charge of Edo treasury”, but unfortunately, Governor Godwin Obaseki busted their bubbles.

It is a known fact that, a number of those defecting today, stepped down their gubernatorial ambitions in 2020 for governor Obaseki (when Obaseki was shown the red flag and exit door in the APC) but one after the other, they were all disappointed as their greedy expectations were not met; so, they all turned their backs on the governor.

In all of the foregoing, one thing I am happy about, and know will always play out, is NEMESIS.

Today, many of those that openly defended the ‘rights’, and seemingly ‘wrongs’ of Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo state, have now turned their backs on the governor; while some have actually condemned some of those issues they earlier defended. A number of them prefer to remain silent. There are however, yet a third set of people who are still with the governor, but only waiting to pull out of the governor’s camp whenever the opportunity opens up for them to do so. In view of this, as the 2024 Edo gubernatorial election draws close, Edo people will definitely witness more defections out of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The question that may come to mind at this point is: ‘How comes the defections are one sided’? For example, why are the exits mostly out of the Peoples Democratic Party? the reason is not farfetched; a number of the defectors, are doing so with the believe that the Peoples Democratic Party is nose-diving in Edo state, going by the internal crisis, grievances, unmet expectations, etc that has turned the members against each other with clear factions. Secondly, many believe that, since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President will make good his promise to Edo state APC during the presidential campaign that he will ‘reclaim’ Edo state for the All Progressives Congress. They call it “The use of the Federal might”.

...as all of these goes on, we are waiting to see if this LAST BATTLE before Obaseki, will eventually be the battle he will lose especially bearing in mind that Obaseki has never lost any battle in the past.

We must be reminded that, some members of the APC in Edo state, have in time past, depended on the so called federal might to rescue them from the ‘claws’ and ‘jaws’ of the EMATON, all to no avail.

However, as all of these goes on, we are waiting to see if this LAST BATTLE before Obaseki will eventually be the battle he will eventually lose especially bearing in mind that Obaseki has never lost any battle in the past.