Edo 2024: Oyegun-Igbinedion Group Insist On Southern Candidate as Obaseki's Successor

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By Reporter

The political interest group put together by two former governors of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Chief Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion was unable to make public their position on the controversial issue of zoning the 2024 governorship tickets.

Midwest Herald had reported on Sunday December 17, 2023, that the group was ready to announce their decision which is based on a ‘technical report’ that was put together by Dr Tony Iredia and Prof Dennis Agbonlahor.

This expectation to push for a proviso that Edo South will accept the deputy governor position was also aborted as a result of the charged atmosphere that prevailed at the meeting, which was generally that of pro-Edo South interest.

All the speakers retorted the numerical strength of Edo South and expressed the need to encourage aspirants from the zone to join the race for Dennis Osadebey Avenue.

According to Chief Oyegun, one of the conveners, every “aspirants from every senatorial zone of the state have the constitutional right to vie for the position of governor in 2024. He expressed that Edo South would not watch akimbo and watch other districts angling for the coveted position.

“We are looking at the Edo State unfolding political equation and at the end of the day we asked ourselves, what is in it for Edo South?

“The zone has the current governor, Godwin Obaseki, and they are not complaining, but that the zone cannot afford to live in the past as the governor’s tenure will end next year.

“We have the governor, who will conclude his tenure next year, but nobody lives in the past. Nobody goes to bed and says the present is good and therefore he will not care about the day that will break tomorrow.”

We can’t be that stupid, the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said.

“We are looking at the immediate future and what we are seeing is not very interesting. So we are looking at how we can make amends to be sure that we are not left behind in the scheme of things.”

Chief Oyegun was however shy of the question on zoning to Edo Central or Edo North. “The issue of zoning is the problem of political parties and not ours,” he added.

The meeting had in attendance, Governor Godwin Obaseki; ex-governor Lucky Igbinedion; the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie; Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant, Hon Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, and Prince Austin Eweka.

Others, including Dr Tony Iredia; Chief Kenneth Oteghekpen, the Nobabor of Benin Kingdom; Retired Justice Uwaifo; Group Captain Jim Adun rtd, and Parry Osayande, as well as Prof Gregory Akenzua.

The meeting ended with a promise to regroup on January 14, 2024, early enough before the primary election of the different political parties.

A vociferous Edo South man, who joined in putting the ‘technical report’ together, told Midwest Herald last night that, the group may have boxed themselves in a difficult corner, going by the tension during the meeting.

“Our people are watching and listening with interest to find out if indeed the Oyegun-Igbinedion pan-political group will be able to chart a rewarding way for those, whose interest they have gathered.

“If the initial plan was to placate Edo South to abandon their constitutional rights, they have since discovered that, that objective is unrealizable.”

The renewed quest by Edo South to contest for the governorship seat, arose as a result of the failure of incumbent Governor Obaseki to develop the zone, which represents the goose that lays the eggs.

All the hydro-carbon deposits are in three of the seven LGAs, but the inhabitants lives in squalor.

Curiously, other senatorial districts – Central and North are afflicted with the same deplorable condition of lack of basic infrastructures.

The health sector has completely broken down and education has taken the worse turn, so much so that primary school pupils are forced to beg governor Obaseki to save them from falling classroom block.

The promise to provide 200,000.00 jobs has remained failed dream, the Agripreneur Programme has equally failed to assist farmers who were captured for the Central Bank of Nigeria agricultural loan.

Despite several petitions written against Edo State Government and Sterling Bank, who the farmers claimed was operating their account without their approval, neither the bank or government is ready to provide answers to several unanswered question.