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A House Divided Against Itself – How PDP Lost Edo

Published

12 months ago

September 27, 2024

Editor

The defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in last Saturday’s governorship election Edo State was largely predicted on the internal rancour that bedevilled the state chapter of the party.

Senator Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC defeated the PDP’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo by 291,667 votes to 247,274 votes. The Labour Party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata came a distant third with 22,763 votes.

For a state that had been ruled by the PDP the election was seen as a referendum on the outgoing administration headed by Governor Godwin Obaseki. The referendum boiled down to delivery of good governance and management of human relationships.

In both respects, the PDP entered the election on a negative.

The election was held on a rainy day that clearly demonstrated the government’s failure in road infrastructure.

It would be recalled that election materials were late to arrive because of the rains which prevented vehicular movements largely on account of the bad roads that have emerged in many areas of the state.

So, for many voters the visible impact of bad roads was a reflection of their bad review of the Obaseki years in governance. Without reference to the promises of the PDP candidate, it was the suggestion of many that so long as the PDP candidate was riding on the support of Obaseki that he would continue on that trajectory.

However, even more than the visible impact of road infrastructure was the poor management of human relations which made Obaseki to be a loner on election day.

That figure of political loneliness was captured during the collation of election results at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC headquarters in Benin when the governor drove alone to complain about the alleged manipulation of figures.

Commenting on the development, Obaseki’s deputy, Mr Philip Shaibu, who is estranged from him said that the governor need not have done that were it not for his loneliness.
“We were the ones who used to do all such things for him. He need not have gone to INEC office by himself,” Shaibu said on Arise Television on Tuesday.

That claim of loneliness was largely reflected in the way the governor reportedly pushed aside those who backed him to power who crystallised into the Legacy Group.

After he was pushed away from the APC in June 2020, Obaseki was welcomed into the PDP with mixed feelings. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama who was on a roller-coaster to win the PDP governorship ticket was made promises including a senate ticket which never came to pass.

The party which had Chief Dan Orbih, the national vice-chairman, South South as leader gave him every support. Orbih became campaign manager and mounted the rostrum every where in Edo State to pave victory for Obaseki in 2020.

Following the victory, Obaseki took more than 11 months to constitute his cabinet. In that time he ran the government with the two former APC members he brought with him to government; his deputy, Shaibu and the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie.

Mutters began to be expressed by the PDP members who thought that having sacrificed the two top positions in government that Obaseki will reward them. But no. The governor’s response was that the PDP should dissolve its structures across the state so that he would appoint those who came with him from the APC into the PDP structures.

The PDP members firmly rebuffed him. That was the beginning of the crisis. Many PDP members told him to go with his government and that they would hold their party.

Dr Tony Aziegbemi, the chairman of the state chapter of the party was at one time suspended and recalled as the crisis grew.

As the crisis grew, Obaseki summoned some party leaders who were differential to him and senior government officials on October 11, 2021 where he announced the suspension of Orbih, Ogbeide-Ihama among others he defined as trouble makers.

“I will not leave PDP. I am the leader of PDP and by the grace of God I will lead PDP well. Any body that doesn’t want me to lead or want to accept my leadership will leave PDP for me,” he said on that day.

That was seen as the last straw on the camel’s back by many. It was following this that Orbih who had held the party for more than a 15 years before Obaseki began separating with him.

Orbih started coalescing the old PDP members and eventually became known as the Legacy PDP. With the power of incumbency, the group despite having the majority of supporters in the state executive lost the recognition of the national leadership of the party who ceded party tickets in the 2023 election to the candidates’ slate presented by Obaseki.

The Legacy Group kept away from the 2023 General Election, and where not, supported others against their party leading to the humiliating defeat of the PDP in the presidential and National Assembly elections.

It was the first time that the PDP would lose the National Assembly elections in Edo State as the party did not win a single Senate seat. Indeed, even with Adams Oshiomhole as governor the PDP was able to show muscle in national assembly elections getting the majority of seats.

The National Assembly election results in 2023 forced Obaseki on a save my life crusade ahead of the State House of Assembly election. His motif was to insinuate that a defeat for the PDP would lead to the emergence of an APC House that would be dominated by Adams Oshiomhole.

It was a trick that worked somewhat. The PDP eventually won control of the House of Assembly in March 2023. That House of Assembly victory perhaps gave Obaseki the confidence that he could still muscle his way through in the governorship election. Though he tried to make peace with Orbih but the effort was not seen as convincing enough.

For example for the first time Obaseki showed up at the traditional Christmas party hosted by Orbih at his Ogbona country home to identify with him last December. But many saw it as a move by the governor to buy over those he had consistently derided as dead woods.

When Asue Ighodalo emerged as candidate, the governor against the advice of Legacy PDP members and others insisted on foisting Osarodion Ogie, seen as one of his surrogates who came with him from the APC as the running mate.

It meant that for two election circles that the original PDP would not have any of its own on the ticket of the party.

Obaseki’s fate was worsened by the way he managed the PDP primary which led almost all of the 10 other aspirants who vied for the ticket with Ighodalo to take position against their party. Though Orbih was not visible in the public face of marshalling the opposition, he nevertheless was believed to have been the fulcrum around with the opposition by the PDP Legacy members vented out their frustration.

Obaseki it would be said helped to bring diverse foes together to stop what many of them saw as a third term for himself. The result was the bruising defeat of the PDP which on election day did not have the ground commanders to protect the votes the party claimed to have polled.

Chief Hilary Otsu is a Political Analyst.

News

Lagos Govt Gives Computer Village Traders Ultimatum To Relocate To Katangowa

Published

35 minutes ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has given traders at the popular Computer Village in Ikeja an 18-month deadline to move to a new permanent site at Katangowa, in the Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Gbolahan Oki, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement with market leaders and traders on Tuesday.

According to him, the state government has provided the necessary infrastructure and facilities at the Katangowa site to ensure a conducive business environment once the relocation takes effect.

“The government wants your cooperation to ensure the relocation comes to pass. The time is now. We have to make the project a reality. The relocation period is 18 months,” Oki said.

He explained that Computer Village currently sits on land originally designated as a residential area, which over time was converted into a bustling commercial hub without formal approval from the government.

Oki also revealed that plans to move traders from Ikeja to Katangowa have been in the works since 2006 but were stalled due to delays in completing the new site.

Emphasizing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to inclusive governance, he noted that the stakeholders’ meeting was convened to carry traders along in the government’s plans.

“The governor is passionate about infrastructure development and the welfare of Lagosians. Katangowa has been designated as the permanent site for this market. It sits on 15 hectares of land, well-planned and strategically located near essential resources for your businesses.

“The present location in Ikeja was never meant to serve as a trading hub. What we are offering at Katangowa is a structured market environment that supports growth while addressing environmental and urban planning concerns. We want to work with you and jointly plan this relocation,” Oki said.

News

Ooni’s Palace Slams Oluwo Over ‘Ife Not Yoruba Origin’ Claim

Published

6 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

The palace of the Ooni of Ife on Tuesday slammed the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, over his claim that Ile-Ife is not the origin of the Yoruba people.

Reacting to the comments, the Ooni’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, dismissed the statement, saying, “No reasonable person will react to Oluwo’s comments.”

Oba Akanbi, known for his controversial views, had in a video posted on his Facebook page while conferring a chieftaincy title in his palace, insisted that “Ile-Ife has no Yoruba culture.”

Flanked by his chiefs, the Iwo monarch argued that the language spoken in Ile-Ife — widely regarded as the cradle of the Yoruba race — differed from mainstream Yoruba. He also questioned the use of certain expressions.

“Ife is not the origin of the Yoruba race. Those people don’t speak our language. Their language is different. They refer to God as Eledumare, and there is nothing like Eledumare in the Yoruba language. What we have is Olodumare.

“Ife people will always say Olofin. If you ask them the meaning, they will tell you it means the owner of the palace. But in Yoruba, that is Alaafin. Ile-Ife has no Yoruba culture.

“I am the Arole Olodumare because I am here to tell you the true history. Iwo is where you can get the real history that was not even documented,” he said, stressing his determination to preserve his version of history.

Debates over the origin of the Yoruba and the authority of monarchs to confer titles have long been contentious.

In August, The PUNCH reported a similar face-off between the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, over the title of Okanlomo of Yorubaland, allegedly conferred on Ibadan businessman Chief Dotun Sanusi by the Ooni.

The Alaafin, through his media aide Bode Durojaiye, insisted no traditional ruler other than him had the authority to bestow a title covering the entire Yorubaland. He issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Ooni to revoke the title or “face the consequences.”

In response, the Ooni’s spokesperson, Olafare, dismissed the ultimatum, saying the monarch had chosen to leave the issue “in the court of public opinion.”

“We cannot dignify the ‘undignifyable’ with an official response. We leave the matter to the public court of opinion, as it is already being treated. Let’s focus on narratives that unite us rather than those capable of dividing us. No press release, please. Forty-eight hours, my foot!” he wrote on Facebook.

News

[OPINION] Rivers: The Futility Of Power And The Illusion Of Victory

Published

9 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

By Israel Adebiyi

Power is a strange thing. To some, it is a crown that dazzles; to others, it is a sword that conquers. Yet history, both ancient and modern, is replete with reminders that power is fleeting, fragile, and often fatal to those who cling to it without wisdom. Nigeria’s Rivers State has, in recent months, provided a theatre where this truth has played out in its rawest form, a play in which the actors ranged from elected governors to godfathers in high places, from lawmakers turned pawns to a weary citizenry who bore the bruises of political combat.

As you may have learnt, the democratically elected Governor Siminalayi Fubara is back in the saddle. What a traumatising six months it must have been for the man who thought being the Chief Security Officer of his state truly makes him the man in charge. What a tormenting time it must have been for the legislature, those who, entrusted with making laws, would rather sink the ship of state than allow Fubara to sail. And what excruciating experience it must have been for the people of Rivers themselves: to have their choice nearly swapped for a civilian in khaki, to watch their lives held hostage by political gladiators in a power struggle that never had their welfare at heart.

At the centre of this drama stood the godfather, one who straddles Abuja and Port Harcourt, ministering to the Federal Capital Territory while seeking to lord it over Rivers, unchallenged. His triumphs and setbacks are well-documented, but the bigger question remains: what has the political elite learnt from all this? From potential godsons, to godfathers, to supporters, to the rest of us, the truth is painfully clear, no one wins in a state of anarchy, not even the chest-beating King Kong.

The Rivers imbroglio reinforces a timeless principle: governance does not happen in chaos. The seat of power may be occupied, but when the instruments of state are weaponised against one another, the business of the people suffers. Schools do not function, hospitals languish, investments are scared away, and trust in government crumbles. A peaceful atmosphere is the precondition for governance, for no policy, no matter how well-crafted, can thrive in the soil of instability.

In this sense, what happened in Rivers is not new. History shows us that the vanity of power games leaves behind a trail of ruins. Rome, mighty and invincible, crumbled not because its armies lost their strength but because its leaders indulged in intrigues, conspiracies, and betrayal, weakening the republic from within. In Africa, the ghosts of Liberia’s civil war and Sierra Leone’s dark decade still whisper lessons of how political egos, once unchecked, descend into rivers of blood where the people are the ultimate casualties.

Even in more stable democracies, we see shades of this futility. Recall the Watergate scandal in the United States: an overreach of power that forced President Nixon’s resignation, not because America lacked laws, but because one man believed his political survival was above the rule of law. In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe’s prolonged hold on power may have begun with promises of liberation but ended with economic collapse and national despair. In all these, the lesson is the same: unchecked power, exercised without restraint, consumes itself.

The real victims of Rivers’ crisis are not the gladiators in high office; they will always find soft landings. The true casualties are the people, the market woman in Port Harcourt whose business was disrupted by endless protests and palpable fears, the civil servant whose progress and commitment are beclouded by uncertainties, the student whose classroom leaks under the rain because the funds for renovation are trapped in political crossfire.

What is often forgotten in the heat of power play is that governance is not an abstract exercise; it is the daily bread of the people. When leaders quarrel, roads go untarred, hospitals go unequipped, and children go unfed. To reduce governance to a chessboard of egos is to mortgage the people’s welfare for vanity. This, tragically, is the recurring story in Nigeria’s democratic experiment.

Philosophers have long wrestled with the meaning of power. Shakespeare, in Macbeth, captured it as “a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.” The story of Rivers is a fresh Nigerian adaptation of this drama. For months, power appeared to belong to one, then another, and then another still. Yet in the end, it was revealed that no one truly wielded power in its purest sense, because power without legitimacy, without the consent of the governed, and without the peace to implement vision, is no power at all.

The futility of the Rivers crisis holds lessons for Nigeria as a whole. Across our federation, godfatherism continues to haunt governance. From Lagos to Kano, from Anambra to Oyo, the tussle between political benefactors and their protégés has become a recurring decimal. Rarely do these battles end in progress for the people; more often than not, they end in paralysis.

The comparison need not be far-fetched. Look at Kenya, where post-election violence in 2007 consumed more than 1,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands. The fault line was political ego, the refusal to let the people’s will stand unchallenged. It took the Kofi Annan-led mediation to restore peace. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, decades of instability trace back to leaders who personalised power, treating the state as property and the people as pawns.

Rivers may not have descended into outright war, but the undertones of instability remind us that democracy is not guaranteed; it must be guarded. When politicians play roulette with the rule of law, they court a descent into chaos that ultimately swallows everyone.

The Rivers episode should compel us to reflect on the foundations of Nigeria’s democracy. For too long, politics has been driven not by institutions but by personalities. Our allegiance is more to godfathers than to constitutions, more to individuals than to principles. Yet sustainable governance is only possible when the rule of law, not the whims of men, governs the game.

What does this mean in practice? It means state assemblies must not be reduced to errand boys of powerful interests. It means governors must respect their oaths of office, governing for all, not just for loyalists. It means party structures must operate with transparency, giving room for dissent without retribution. Above all, it means citizens must rise in defence of their democracy, insisting that their mandate cannot be traded on the altar of ego.

The Rivers drama may be easing, but the scars remain. It was a sobering reminder that power, when divorced from service, becomes poison. That democracy, when stripped of rule of law, becomes anarchy. That in the final analysis, no one truly wins when the people lose.

From the godfathers to the godsons, from the lawmakers to the electorate, we must all acknowledge a shared truth: we are losers when power games eclipse governance. The real triumph is not in who sits in Government House, but in whether that House delivers schools, hospitals, jobs, and peace.

Let Rivers be a lesson to Nigeria: that power is not an end in itself, but a means to service. That peace is not weakness, but strength. And that the greatest legacy any leader can leave is not monuments of ego, but institutions that outlast them.

For if Rivers has taught us anything, it is that governance cannot happen in a state of anarchy, and the futility of power is revealed when its pursuit leaves the people broken. Let us, therefore, rise to build a democracy where power serves the people, not the other way round.