By DADA AYOKHAI
INEC’s timetable fixing party primaries between April and May has set the stage for Edo’s legislative contests.
In the absence of a governorship race, the battles pit incumbent lawmakers eyeing second or third terms against fresh challengers.
In Edo Central senatorial district, known as “Esan,” in local parlance, Governor Monday Okpebholo’s homeland, attention turns to the National Assembly seats, all held by APC members.
They include Sen. Joe Ikpea, who filled Okpebholo’s Senate seat after the by-election, and Reps. Marcus Onobu and Prince Odianosen Okojie.
Hon. Onobu, a former speaker of Edo state House of Assembly who won his House seat on a PDP ticket before defecting to APC, is the only one facing a contested primary so far.
Governor Okpebholo’s body language suggests tactical approval for Senator Ikpea and Hon Okojie second term bid hence none of his loyalists indicated interest in the race, leaving the room for the duo to prepare for election with other rival opponents in the election scheduled for January 2027 going by INEC time table.
In contrast, Okpebholo’s displeasure with Rep. Onobu is open with his loyalist Dr. Lucky Eseigbe resigned his commissionership to challenge Onobun for the APC ticket.
Onobu’s earlier defection to APC followed a public spat in which the governor accused him of hosting cultists at his Iruekpen home, hence marked his house for demolition , a claim Onobu denied as political persecution.
Few weeks after exchange of bounters, Onobun defected to APC .
The governor’s reluctance to forgive appears to have left Onobu exposed to a primary fight while his colleagues run unopposed.
Okpebholo Shields Ikpea, Okojie, Exposes Onobun in APC Primary Battle
