By DADA AYOKHAI
There is a high probability that Hon Gani Akokhia, the All Progressive Congress, APC, House of Assembly candidate for the Etsako west Constituency 2, may emerge the winner of the March 18 state assembly election, if the permutations do not change before the election day.
This hope is hinged on the unique power-sharing template put in place by the APC leaders in the local government to ensure balance, equity, and inclusiveness
Feelers by our reporters on a random survey of the chances of each of the candidates in the race for the Etsako west Constituency 2 seat shows the APC stands a far better chance of winning the seat.
This is, of course, based on the deliberate manner by which the APC leaders in the local government allocated the available assembly slots, starting from the national assembly to the state, and making sure there was inclusiveness and equity in the sharing given the complexities among the diverse communities which make up the local government.
Etsako west Constituency 2, going by the prevailing political arrangement in the Etsako West council area, is made up of five Wards, with the Uzairue clan carrying the lion’s share by hosting four of them while South Ibie prides itself on a single ward .
Given the size and the huge voting number of the Uzairue clan, she alone can pick the House of Assembly slots but, in their wisdom, the party leaders fashioned out a win-win template to give both the majority and the minority a common voice in the political sphere.
In this regard, while the Edo North senatorial slot went to Comrade Adams Oshiomole, from the Uzairue clan, as expected, the state assembly slot was reserved for the South Ibie, a minority community as appeasement and also as a way of giving them a voice.
Fortunately, Comrade Oshiomole already has his senatorial seat in his kitty, Akokhia, the announced South Ibie candidate is eagerly waiting in the wings to fulfill his date with destiny on March 18.
What, however, reinforces the prospect of Akokhia victory in the March 18 state assembly poll is the Comrade Oshiomole factor as well as the huge number of votes to be harvested from his Uzairue clan. In addition, the unanimity of opinion among the South Ibie people to support their son makes the victory of Akokhia cast in iron
As for the ruling PDP, it preferred to allow an Uzairue person, Dr Felix Iyalomhe to fly its flag. Naturally, this preferential, though based on population considerations, rankled many feathers who refused to buy into the idea, insisting it was lopsided since the deputy governor of the state, Hon Shaibu, himself, from Uzairue, is already in his second term of 8years.
According to some of the critics of the arrangement, the whole thing looks like an “Uzairue project”, to the exclusion of the others.
As it seems, the PDP is caught in the conundrum of its inability to distill the prevailing mood of the people. The APC, on the other hand, exhibited dexterity in appreciating the plurality and, therefore, equitably allotted its available assembly slots
The March 18 state assembly election will determine who laughs the last between the two dominant political parties in Etsako
