Edo guber ticket as political carrot

adams Nosakhare Osarodion

I couldn’t contain my laughter as I watched an interview session on a local television station in Benin City, where a man said he was promised the ticket to become the next governor of Edo State. The man, Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu, one-time Secretary to the Government of Mr. Lucky Igbinedion and major contributor to the failure of that government, was guest of the local television station and he gave reasons why he dumped his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ize-Iyamu’s decamping to the PDP and his reasons were clear manifestations of political jobber who can’t be entrusted with an assignment that requires integrity. In a paper delivered last year, at the anniversary of Edo Political Forum in Benin City entitled “Political Governance in Edo State: 1999-till date,” Ize-Iyamu admitted his failure and that of government in which he was SSG. H said, “Internally Generated Revenue, for example, which today, thanks to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s government is over N1 billion a month, was then N27 million a month.

“Another serious challenge to the administration was the ruling party itself. The PDP that produced the governor of the state between 1999 and 2007 had no manifesto, blueprint or plan for governance and in Edo State was actually personified by one lead character that was literally worshipped as the owner and giver of political power. The pressure and subtle threat from the godfather and his supporters were excessive and distractive in the process of project planning and execution, as well as management of the resources of the State…. Definitely, the governor did not have the combative and no nonsense posture of the incumbent Oshiomhole, who with his progressive mentality as an activist, also had to contend with the godfatherism syndrome and ruthlessly dismantled their structure.
“It is that courage, and conviction to pursue the public good that have bonded the Comrade and I, and accounted for my elevation to National Vice-Chairman (South-south zone) of the Action Congress of Nigeria, the progressive platform for the development of our state. I am presently a member of the National Merger Committee of ACN, ANPP, CPC, APGA and DPP that is working towards the registration of a new national political party called the All Progressives Congress (APC) which we believe would be able to defeat the ruling PDP and rescue Nigeria from its present state of decay.”

Now just a few months after, Ize-Iyamu’s song has suddenly changed. In a recent interview, Ize-Iyamu said “from what we have seen, it is clear that the PDP is not a one-man party. It is a party that has clearly defined rules and regulations; a party that is well structured, organized and has a better platform for us to be able to engage ourselves and get the dividends of democracy to our people.”
The question on everyone’s lips is why did this pastor suddenly make a volte-face, change his song and decamp from the APC in the middle of the party’s congresses? What is new in the PDP that it is suddenly a well-structured and organized party?
The answer is not far-fetched. Ize-Iyamu merely used the APC Congress as a cover to justify his decamping from the party.

The pastor is sulking because the man who promised him candy (governor) is backing out. He is miffed that the governor who promised to hand him the governorship seat on a platter of gold was apparently having a change of heart. He had thought that having been promised the governorship ticket, there would be no need for congresses or harmonization of slots between himself and the other leaders in his local government. The truth is that Ize-Iyamu overestimates his political value.
He put his popularity to test during the APC congresses in Orhiomwon and lost twice. He also underestimated the political consciousness in Edo State and the astute memory of the people. It beats my imagination how Ize-Iyamu expects to be “dashed” the governorship ticket without going through the primaries. Perhaps his biggest miscalculation was that he thought Oshiomhole was like the PDP godfather who simply compensates his cronies with tickets to elective positions, whether they merit it or not!

Edo people have not forgotten the role he played which led to the failure of Igbinedion’s government. Lucky had won numerous awards including the best Local Government Chairman when he was the Chairman of Oredo Local Government. He performed so creditably that the people voted for him to be governor. Yet he failed as governor when he invited Ize-Iyamu to be Chief of Staff and Secretary to State Government. If Ize-Iyamu has forgotten, Edo people have not.
Oh, I forgot, the governor also promised to make me governor of the state after his tenure, but I’m reasonable enough to know that the ticket of who becomes governor cannot be decided by an individual, but by the generality of people of the state.

Mr. Osarodion wrote from Benin City, Edo state