By DADA AYOKHAI
The chummy relationship that hitherto existed between the chairman of the Etsako West council area, Hon. Marvellous Zibiri, and the Anwain community has become fractured as a result of some irreconcilable differences between the two parties
Incidentally, Hon. Zibiri hails from the Anwain community, and the issue about the appointment of a Special Adviser has created a huge wedge between the council chairman and his kinsmen in the Anwain community
Checks conducted by Borderline News24 reveal that trouble began for the council chairman when he refused to toe the same path as his predecessors.
Hon. Zibiri’s kinsmen have accused of being headstrong by refusing to pick one of them as his Special Adviser
Borderline News24 learned that, as a form of tradition and self-preservation reasons, the previous chairman chose their Special Advisers from their immediate community. for some self-preservation reasons.
However, the decision by the Etsako West council chairman, Hon. Zibiri, to make a U-turn from the established tradition shocked his kinsmen and went ahead to announce his cabinet
For side-stepping them and going on to appoint one of his core loyalists from Auchi for the role of Special Adviser, the people of the Anwain community on whose back he rode to power are furious and have decided to fight back
Short of accusing the council chairman of pursuing a personal agenda different from what used to obtain, the Anwain community has vowed to swing their support and loyalty to the opposition party in subsequent elections in the state.
Recall that the PDP in Edo State, ahead of the March 18 state assembly election, decided to raise the bar insisting only the Wards and constituencies that were able to galvanize the votes to deliver the party would be given the right of first refusal to produce the chairmanship and councillorship candidates
The PDP in the Anwain where Hon. Zibiri hails from, cleared virtually all the available votes in the ward and that singular result paved the way for the chairmanship ambition of Hon. Zibiri.
Unless there is a quick-fix solution to the crisis, the two contending parties may dig deeper into their trenches with the implications far-reaching in future elections
