By Pleasure Onohwakpo
As the Esan people of Edo Central are anxiously awaiting the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) whistle and election timetable to fill the existing vacant Edo Central senatorial Seat in the National Assembly, prominent politicians have also kick-started consultations on how they could win their respective parties tickets for the by-election into the upper chamber.
Introduction…
It would be recalled that the Edo Central Senatorial Seat became vacant when the incumbent governor, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebolo, who was then the Senator representing the Esan people in the upper chamber on the platform of the All Progressives Congress(APC), was elected as governor of Edo State recently.
Expectedly, it is the duty of INEC, the National election umpire in the country to come up with a timetable to formally kickstart the process of filling the existing senatorial vacancy.
The Data from the field…
The New Diplomat’s Pleasure Onohwakpo who was part of a four-man team of newspapers’ editors who went round the five Local Government Areas that constitute the Edo Central Senatorial District, recently, reports that one name seems to resonate in the lips of every Esan as to who the choice of the personality to represent the people in the red chamber.
Respondent after respondent kept talking of the Ewatto-born former chairman of Esan South East Local Government Area, Hon. Dr. Joseph Ikpea, former Edo State Honourable Commissioner for Minerals, Oil and Gas as well as Local Government Council Chairman of Esan South East, among others, as the peoples’ choice for the vacant Senate seat.
Indeed, a brief profile of Dr. Joseph Ikpea indicates that the APC chieftain is also a former Honourable Commissioner in charge of the ministry of Minerals, Oil and Gas in Edo State as well as a former Local Government Council Chairman whose philanthropy and care for the less privilege is legendary. He is also an astute businessman, apart from being a grassroots politician who dwells among his people.
Responses from the five Local Government Areas of the Edo Central Senatorial District, indeed, indicate that the personality of Dr. Joe (as he is fondly known) looms large as a well known figure whose antecedents politician, philanthropist and businessman is common knowledge among the grassroots. In crisscrossing the five LGAs that constitute Esan, The New Diplomat chronicles the verdict of the people vis-a-vis Dr Joe Ikpea’s political standing abd why they are rooting for him to fill the coveted position of Senator representing Edo Central.
*Esan Central LGA…
In Esan Central Local Government Area, opinions among respondents here on the choice of Dr. Joe Ikpea is unanimous. At the mention of the name of the astute politician cum businessman, both the young, the women, men and elderly are quick to refer to his sterling performance while in political office. He was simply described as a man of the people. A chieftain of APC in Esan Central, Mr. Eugene Okoloise responded thus:
“Joseph is the man for the job and to me, he is simply the best for the job. If you take a sample poll from among the people in Edo Central ninety percent of the people will tell you that they will go for Joseph.
“I know that Joe was not initially keen in running for the vacant senatorial seat. It was the people that came together to say, Joe, come and run for the seat because we know you can do it. When the incumbent Governor was the Senator representing Edo Central, we know the goal he set as a Senator. So, the people cannot allow a neophyte to occupy that place. We need someone who can win election for us”
* Igueben Local Government Area…
Speaking in a similar vein, Mr. Augustus Omokaro Eriaria from Igueben Local Government Area of the State, described Dr. Joe Ikpea as “a very dependable and reliable politician who has always been in the service of his people and humanity”. According to him, as the chairman of Esan South East Local Government Area, Dr. Ikpea “proved his mettle. He did a lot of developmental projects and touched a lot of lives. He built schools, primary health centres and also constructed roads within the limited and very meagre resources at his disposal. I can score him 85 to 90 percent in his performances as a Local Government chairman and also as a Commissioner”, he said.
Esan South Local Government Area…
Indeed, Joe Ikpea’s antecedents, both as a political office holder and in his private capacity as an accomplished business man, has become a subject of serious scrutiny by his people. And having x-rayed his past performances, the people of Esan South LGA seem to have also concluded that Dr. Joseph Ikpea should be the one to fly the APC flag for the vacant Senate seat.
A youth leader of the party Hon. Prosper Iyere, from ward 7 in Esan South Local Government of Edo State, who fielded question from newsmen, submitted that he had made a comparative analysis between and among all persons aspiring to the position and, in his words, he had zeroed on Dr. Joseph Ikpea as the aspirant to beat for the vacant senatorial seat.
“At this time of our lives as youths, it is important to look at the comparative advantage of individuals, the credibility of individuals, the focus and mindset of individuals coming up for election to represent our interest. The young people have vested interest in who becomes what and how they become what within the senatorial district. At this time Hon. Joseph Ikpea is a perfect fix to represent Edo Central at the National Assembly at the next fill-up senatorial election. And I’m quite confident that he will deliver and I can tell you that for free.
“Hon. Joseph has been one-time this and one-time that. He has been a member of SUBEB in Edo State, he has been a member of Edo State Library Board; he has been a Local Government chairman, he has been a Special Adviser; he has been a Commissioner for Oil and Gas in Edo State. And we can look at the historical antecedents of this great man that we call Hon. Joe Ikpea otherwise known as Big Joe”, the youth leader opined.
Esan West Local Government Area…
Joe Ikpea’s attachment to the grassroots and the unfettered accessibility to him has also been x-rayed by the people. A chieftain of the party from Esan West Local Government Area, Engr. Michael Ehitoya Kuku, who spoke to our media crew noted that Dr. Joseph Ikpea is a grassroots politician who cares for his people.
He said: “Joe has been on ground and knows what the people want. He is not an outsider. He is somebody who knows what his people want. He is a man of few words but full of action.
“He is a man that is loved by all and hated by none. I can tell you that the leadership of the APC from the national to the grassroots level, know his capability. They know that he has the ability to provide maximum representation at the Senate for Edo Central Senatorial District.”
Esan North East Local Government Area…
Also emphasizing on the impact which Dr.Joe Ikpea had had on people in his previous political offices, another chieftain of the party, Mr. Saturday Iyoha from Esan North East Local Government Area, stated that “Dr. Joe is a successful businessman and he is also a politician. He was a one-time Chairman for Esan South East Local Government Area. He did well as a Local Government chairman. I know him, he is a philanthropist. He is living a life that touches other people’s lives. He is a man that is accessible to everybody”.
Esan South East LGA…
A well-known leader and elder of the party from Esan South East LGA, Elder Sam Eboigbe described Hon. Joseph Ikpea as the right person for the vacant senatorial seat. He recalled vividly that the senatorial aspirant did very well as a Council chairman and also as a Commissioner, adding that he, Eboigbe, as one of the leaders of the party in Edo Central, he will throw his support behind Dr. Joe Ikpea.
“He did well as a Local Government chairman and as a Commissioner. He is the right person for that seat. We shall support him and we are preparing him for the seat. I know that there are other contestants to the senatorial seat but we are preparing Joe Ikpea to go for the vacant seat of the Senate. During the governorship race, we had about 29 aspirants in Edo State and out of the 29, one came up under the APC. So, if we are looking for one person for the Senatorial seat in Edo Central, that one person is Joe”, he concluded.
Conclusion…
As the political dynamics in Edo Central continue to unfold as it relates to the vacant Senatorial seat, one name that keeps coming up on the lips of the people of the Senatorial zone as the right material for the coveted position, is Dr. Joe Ikpea. From sampled field reports and collated field data gathered across the five LGAs that constitute Edo Central, it is clear that the people-youth, elders, women, party stalwarts, leaders, traditional rulers, etc- are rooting for Joe Ikpea to represent Edo Central at the Red Chambers for quality and effective representation.
