Will APC retain Edo state after Oshiomhole?
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Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday January 26, 2016 at 12:25:41:
In the past, Edo state has always been a PDP state but was later captured by the APC as a result of their campaign to bring the grassroot people to power and also because of the popularity of Adams Oshiomhole who was well known as an aggressive leader of the Nigerian Labour Congress. Adams resigned from his office in the NLC and became a mainstream politician by joining the Labour party which was a suitable platform for him since he was a member of the Nigerian Labour Congress and was counting on the support of civil servants in the state.In 2007, he joined the APC after his party entered into an alliance with them as a major opposition party to win election against the PDP stronghold in the state. He offered a ticket to run for governor but did not immediately emerge as the winner as INEC had declared the PDP candidate, as the winner. He had to go through the tribunal and court so as to eventually become the winner and was sworn in as governor in November 2008. He also won a second term for office in 2012 and his tenure would expire by 2016. 2016 will be the year when Edo people will decide if they want to continue with the APC and Oshiomhole's legacy or they want a change.Adams Oshiomhole did not become governor of Edo state because he was among the richest people as there were many more who were richer than him in terms of financial wealth but because he was a like-able person and he was seen as a grassroots person. It was also possible that he has a wealthy godfather backing him to help in election campaigns. It's really hard to win an election in Nigeria if you did not have someone with deep pockets backing you such as a billionaire unless you are a billionaire yourself.The year 2016 is seen as a direct test of strength between the 2 major political parties which are the APC and the PDP as they both have help power in the state for up to 8 years with the APC having the incumbency power but the fact that the APC lost during Presidential elections in the state shows that the PDP still has some strenght there although not strong enough as they only won by about 80,000 votes.Looking at it historically and statistically, one would say that PDP will have their turn now as Edo state people seems to be voting for change after every 8 years as they first had Igbinedion(PDP) for 8 years after which they switched to APC's Oshiomhole for another 8 years. The APC would have to do something extra to retain power in 2016 else it could slip back to the PDP.Even though the APC government led by Oshiomhole has held power for 8 years, there seems to be a growing level dissatisfaction and anger over his administration by the people and one of the criticisms about his administration is that he keeps borrowing money that would have to be repaid by his successors. He was reported to have borrowed $75 million development loan from the World Bank. He was also accused of making Edo state people poorer by the introduction of more taxes such as the land use charge since it would make landlords spend more to maintain their lands and also charge more to end users.In 2013, the governor got married to a lady in her late 20s and young enough to be his daughter and the age gap was over 30 years. While some booed at it, others called it an achievement for a man of his status since his wife had died in 2013 and he waited for 2 years to get married again.The Edo state governor has been known to be publicly vocal against the PDP government of the day and he rose through the opposition party to become the governor of Edo state. Now that the former opposition party is the ruling party, a question remains as to whether Edo state people will keep voting for him and his party or would want to change back to the PDP in 2016.
In the past, Edo state has always been a PDP state but was later captured by the APC as a result of their campaign to bring the grassroot people to power and also because of the popularity of Adams Oshiomhole who was well known as an aggressive leader of the Nigerian Labour Congress. Adams resigned from his office in the NLC and became a mainstream politician by joining the Labour party which was a suitable platform for him since he was a member of the Nigerian Labour Congress and was counting on the support of civil servants in the state.In 2007, he joined the APC after his party entered into an alliance with them as a major opposition party to win election against the PDP stronghold in the state. He offered a ticket to run for governor but did not immediately emerge as the winner as INEC had declared the PDP candidate, as the winner. He had to go through the tribunal and court so as to eventually become the winner and was sworn in as governor in November 2008. He also won a second term for office in 2012 and his tenure would expire by 2016. 2016 will be the year when Edo people will decide if they want to continue with the APC and Oshiomhole's legacy or they want a change.Adams Oshiomhole did not become governor of Edo state because he was among the richest people as there were many more who were richer than him in terms of financial wealth but because he was a like-able person and he was seen as a grassroots person. It was also possible that he has a wealthy godfather backing him to help in election campaigns. It's really hard to win an election in Nigeria if you did not have someone with deep pockets backing you such as a billionaire unless you are a billionaire yourself.The year 2016 is seen as a direct test of strength between the 2 major political parties which are the APC and the PDP as they both have help power in the state for up to 8 years with the APC having the incumbency power but the fact that the APC lost during Presidential elections in the state shows that the PDP still has some strenght there although not strong enough as they only won by about 80,000 votes.Looking at it historically and statistically, one would say that PDP will have their turn now as Edo state people seems to be voting for change after every 8 years as they first had Igbinedion(PDP) for 8 years after which they switched to APC's Oshiomhole for another 8 years. The APC would have to do something extra to retain power in 2016 else it could slip back to the PDP.Even though the APC government led by Oshiomhole has held power for 8 years, there seems to be a growing level dissatisfaction and anger over his administration by the people and one of the criticisms about his administration is that he keeps borrowing money that would have to be repaid by his successors. He was reported to have borrowed $75 million development loan from the World Bank. He was also accused of making Edo state people poorer by the introduction of more taxes such as the land use charge since it would make landlords spend more to maintain their lands and also charge more to end users.In 2013, the governor got married to a lady in her late 20s and young enough to be his daughter and the age gap was over 30 years. While some booed at it, others called it an achievement for a man of his status since his wife had died in 2013 and he waited for 2 years to get married again.The Edo state governor has been known to be publicly vocal against the PDP government of the day and he rose through the opposition party to become the governor of Edo state. Now that the former opposition party is the ruling party, a question remains as to whether Edo state people will keep voting for him and his party or would want to change back to the PDP in 2016.