DISPLAY OF POTENTIAL ESAN GOVERNORSHIP ASPIRANTS IS PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE
.. _Let us first have a united house under a strong leadership
The social media space has been awashed with names of prospective Esan sons and daughters thought to be qualified for the much anticipated Esan Governor come 2024. As at the last count, 27 names have been generated and flaunted across board. Some imaginary while some are for real.
I am concerned about those that are being peddled under the umbrella of the PDP. Though other political parties in Edo state have their storms, the PDP stands out. The crisis in the party led to the abysmal performance of the PDP in Edo State during the just concluded general elections. The party posted the worst results ever in the presidential and National Assembly elections and struggled to have a simple majority of the House of Assembly seats under a sitting PDP Governor.
The general views and acceptable political setup based on equity, fairness and justice are that it is the turn of Edo Central Senatorial District ( Esan People) to produce the next chief executive of the state. All things being equal ( as the Economists will say), this should not be a hard decision for the North and South Senatorial Districts to make. It is this believe and expectation that have led to the emergence of different categories of Esan sons and daughters showing interest to contest for the governorship position either directly or by proxy.
However, contesting an election and winning the election such as that of the governorship of a sophisticated state like Edo are two different things. To win the governorship election, you need a united house where you can come together to strategize with a common focus. You need a strong leadership that will direct and harmonize the various interests so that the crisis that follow after primaries do not engulf the party. A united PDP will always sweep the polls in Edo State.
Our focus in Edo Central PDP now is to unite the party and endorse a strong leadership. Any aspirant who does not have this as his or her first agenda cannot be the messiah the Esan people are looking for. The first and foremost agenda for us in Edo Central PDP is to unite under a strong party leadership as we always had during the days of Chief Tony Anenih, Adm. Augustus Aikhomu and Hon. Vincent Ogun, all of blessed memories.
With the array of prospective aspirants that we are witnessing, if there is no strong party leadership, the aftermath of the congresses and primaries will so divide the party that the crash at the polls will be inevitable. I have heard people saying that they do not care which party produces the Governor as long as he or she is of Esan extraction. I do not totally share this view. In as much as I want an Esan person as Governor in 2024, I would prefer that the PDP produces the Esan Governor.
The race has begun but let us not put the cart before the horse. Anyone aspiring to be Governor, must invest his energy and resources in uniting the party and putting in place a strong leadership base. This will count.
