Likely Defection To PDP…AAC On The Cards
By Kolawole Ojebisi
Following the disqualification of Governor Godwin Obaseki from the Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) primary race on Friday, indications are rife that he might be defecting from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) barring any last minute change of dynamics or plans.
The New Diplomat’s checks also indicate that there are also talks by supporters of the Edo state governor with another political party,as a back up plan should the PDP option fail.
Governor Obaseki had on Friday said he would take the outcome of the screening committee that disqualified him from participating in the forthcoming Edo primaries in his stride as doing otherwise “is an effort in futility.”
Chairman of the APC Screening Committee, Prof Jonathan Ayuba, while presenting the report of his to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party on Friday, said there were some discrepancies in the names and certificates of the governor.
The New Diplomat gathered that as the Governor continues to push for his re-election bid, he is currently weighing the option of joining the PDP to seek its guber ticket. Also, he is not ruling out the option of exploring the African Action Congress (AAC) if the PDP’s defection talks collapses or fail to materialize as projected.
Some PDP governors were said to be backing his defection to the party and are reportedly billed to make a solidarity call on him this weekend. However, a governor in one of the PDP’s stronghold states in the South-South is said to be indisposed to the move.
But sources hinted that a very senior leader of the PDP from Bayelsa State have spoken with the said South South governor who may have calmed down and decided to go along with his colleagues position on the matter.
Part of the agenda that would dominate the deal is the position of deputy governorship slot which the PDP says it would like to nominate a candidate to fill as Obaseki’s likely running mate.
But insiders said negotiations are still on-going with other positions such as powerful commissionership roles, SSG and Chief of Staff positions likely to be discussed before consolidating the deal. If some of those positions are conceded to the PDP, then the current deputy governor of Edo State, Hon Philip Shaibu would then run with Governor Obaseki just as he did in 2016.
However, if the defection happens, the governor who was reported to have purportedly collected a membership card of the PDP at ward 4 Oredo Local Government would be taking the grand action with all the 18 Local Government Chairmen in Edo State together with 12 lawmakers in the State Assembly.
This comes as three aspirants seeking the PDP ticket for the Edo election have already been screened, signaling the close of nominations. But the most important date for close of nomination or submission of governorship candidate names is the date set or determined by INEC as the political parties could always adjust their dates to align with INCE’S deadline.
Earlier, in his reaction, the chairman of the APC in Edo State, Anselm Ojezua, had hinted that despite Obaseki’s disqualification from the party, the governor would go-ahead to seek a re-election under another party.
“They didn’t say he will not contest the election but that he will not contest under the platform of the APC.
“By tomorrow, we will meet and be in a position to make a proper statement on what the future holds for the party in Edo State,” Mr Ojezua said.
