OPINION: EDO VOTED AGAINST OBASEKI, NOT PDP..DEEP LESSONS .. BASA

 

Bolanle Aminat Sarumi Aliyu, a chieftain of the People's Democratic Party and former candidate for the governorship seat in Oyo state has described the outcome of the gubernatorial elections in Edo State as sad and full of lessons.

According to her, the emergence of Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress is not because the people of Edo State rejected the Peoples Democratic Party.

The voting pattern and the resultant outcome of the elections were due to many factors. She listed some of them as

Protest votes against the high-handedness of the incumbent governor, Obaseki

The standoff with the Omonoba of Benin. The Benin people hold their king in high esteem and any affront to the monarch is taken literally as an insult on the people. This according to Sarumi, is a particularly wrong move, especially in an election year.

Intra-party squabbles, which has almost always plagued the Peoples Democratic Party, also came to fore in the Edo Elections, she said. Notable politicians left the party due to irreconcilable quarrels. A four-time Senator, Matthew Uroghide left the party. Efforts to reconcile the governor with Philip Shuaibu, his erstwhile Deputy failed. Other aggrieved PDP stalwarts either left the party or stayed and refused to work for the party. 

The loss of PDP became the gain of APC.

The lessons from the results of the Edo Elections are simple, Bola Said. Incumbents must be spare in wielding power lest they incur the wrath of the voting populace.

Nigerian voters are beginning to vote for and/or against personalities rather than parties.

Internal democracy and conflict resolution are very germane to the electoral fortunes and survival of political parties.

She therefore appealed to the PDP in Ondo State, who are next in line on the election calendar, to as a matter of urgency ensure all internal wranglings within the party are resolved. All aggrieved members, old and present should be enjoined to come back on board. The contributions of everybody are important at a time like this.

The result of the Edo elections should not be seen as a death knell for the party but a ginger to work harder in future elections.

BASA, as she is fondly called by friends and admirers is a political figure to watch for in the run up to the 2027 elections.

 She is from Ibadan North Local Government of Oyo State and hails from a prominent political dynasty.