NWC, EDO PDP STAKEHOLDERS MEETING WAS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
By Amb Tony Okonigene ANIVS, RSV
As the date scheduled for the Edo governorship election draws nearer, political parties are putting their houses together in order to present the best as their candidates.
For the ruling PDP, after the disastrous outings in the February 2023 National elections, it is imperative that the party sits to bring the warring factions of Governor Godwin Obaseki and Chief Dan Orbih together. The necessity for unity in the Edo PDP, was made manifest with the surprising recovery the party made in the House of Assembly elections 3 weeks later and the landslide victories recorded during the local government councils polls.
No doubt, by all indices, the PDP remains in control of Edo state especially in Edo Central and Edo South. The PDP has also taken over control of Akoko Edo, Owan West and Owan East local governments in Edo North Senatorial District. A united PDP in Edo State will sweep the coming governorship election in 2024. This is what the opposition dreads, that is, for the PDP to unite. So every available instrument and resources are being deployed to ensure that the PDP in Edo state does not unite before the elections.
It therefore came as a rude shock to many agents of disunity, when the principalities and powers of the Edo State PDP gathered in the conference room of its National Headquarters in Abuja on the 14th of December to chat the way forward. In attendance were the leading figures of the two warring groups in the party including Governor Godwin Obaseki, Comrade Philip Shuaibu and Chief Dan Orbih. The speculation that the meeting will be boycotted by one of the groups collapsed and this has thrown the opposition into a frenzy. Every student of Edo PDP political history in internal crisis management knows that once the parties involved start sitting to discuss, the crisis will dissolve.
Expectedly, the first meeting was heated. The National Chairman who presided over the meeting allowed all parties to ventilate their angers. This was a high display of wisdom. On his part, the leader of the party in Edo state, Governor Godwin Obaseki put up a fatherly disposition by absorbing all blames in order to ensure that the party goes into the election as a united front. He pledged to make any sacrifice necessary to get the part united in the state. This is commendable.
The meeting turned out very successful contrary to the expectations of those fanning the embers of disunity. The NWC has taken a step further by announcing its intention to set up a Committee that will reconcile the warring groups. The stakeholders agreed to abide by the decisions of the NWC. This is a great victory for the Edo PDP.
There has been various manipulative write ups in the social media concerning the outcome of the meeting in Abuja. This is expected from the opposition who are right now in a state of panic and confusion. The game will be over the moment Governor Godwin Obaseki and Chief Dan Orbih shake hands and agree to go into the election in unity. This is the greatest nightmare of the opposition. Whatever reports being poured out there to confuse the confusable, the truth is that there was no decision taken either concerning zoning or the State chairman stepping aside. These were the wishes of the opposition that crashed. In fact, the NWC made it clear that it will not tolerate any parallel congresse or primary. The NWC said it will communicate with the party in Edo State through one channel only and that is the State chairman.
The meeting was a first major concrete step in the right direction towards resolving the crisis within the PDP. Those who are hoping for the PDP to go into the governorship election disunited are in for a shocker.
December 17, 2023
