By DADA AYOKHAI
The ongoing face-off between the Edo state governor , Mr Godwin obaseki which came as a huge shock to political observers in the state is beginning to assume propaganda dimensions.
Penultimate week, a usually calm and reticent Gov Obaseki while on political campaign tour of Edo north district ahead of the local elections in the state held a meeting with Shaibu’s kinsmen in Etsako west LGA to present their son unpalatable scorecard.
Strangely, in so doing, and to probably paint his deputy as a “black sheep”, the governor, either knowingly or unknowingly, distorted history and made some unforgivable gaffes.
Governor Obaseki told Hon. Shaibu’s kinsmen that he was the reason why the PDP failed to win any state assembly seat in Etsako especially during the March 18 assembly election, stressing his rigidity and intolerance in the handling political disputes as well as dissent greatly eroded the party’s base and also alienated it from the voters.
He said, “Today, the PDP does not have a member in the State Assembly from Etsako and this has never happened before. In my background, if you are given responsibility and you fail, you are changed immediately but I did not do so. Instead, I decided to continue to manage the situation”.
Such characterization has, however, drawn the ire of pundits who believe the governor deliberately distorted history to score cheap political points against his deputy.
For the records, Governor obaseki became a member of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in June 2020 shortly after his defection from the All Progressive Congress, APC,.
The first election under his watch as Governor and the leader of the party was the last held 2023 elections.
Pundits recall that the PDP, for the first time in recent history under the governor’s watch the party failed to win a Senatorial seat at the national Assembly elections also placed a distant third in the presidential poll.
They noted the election results was the PDP worst performance adding that the fact that it happened under his watch speaks volumes about his clout as well as the performance of his administration.
On the loss of the state assembly seats in the Etsako axis, pundits attributed the failure of the PDP to win to Obaseki administration unable to execute any mayor project which it could have used to canvass for the electorate’s vote and support .
Besides, the only state assembly seat the PDP ever won after the exist of PDP in government house with Comrade Adams Oshiomole as governor came by default at the elections Tribunal
The victory of the then APC winner was nullified n based on the fact that the party primary which produced him was conducted outside the period stipulated by the law.
As a reminder, pundits also pointed at the absurd and nauseating outing the PDP recorded in the governor’s political backyard, specifically in Edo South where the new entrant, the Labour Party won the National Assembly seats and ended up sharing the two available state assembly seats one apiece in oredo constituency.
In all, the PDP loss during the last election was not peculiar to Etsako alone. In fact, it cut across all three senatorial districts in the state.
In Edo central district where the state party PDP chairman hails from, the APC for the first time since inception of democracy in 1999 made an inroads into the district producing the senator and house of representatives member along with handful of assembly seats.
Thus, to single out the deputy governor for blame smacks of mischief in an established case of collective quilt.
