AS the Edo State governorship election holds on Saturday, September 21, 2024, it presents a fresh vista for the people to raise a new leader with commendable qualities to oversee the state’s affairs in the next four years. Such an election was held four years ago and it facilitated the renewal of the tenure of the outgoing governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. While the envisaged exercise aligns with a tenet of the democratic course, its periodic conduct would affirm the steady progress of the current political dispensation.
Prior to D-day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials had been pre-occupied with a flurry of activities such as updating of the votes register and issuance of permanent voters’ cards(PVC) to registrants, including those voting for the first time and others that did not collect their cards before now. A total of 2, 249, 780 voters reflecting the figure of those that have collected their PVCs ahead of the gubernatorial election are eligible to vote.
One of the most noticeable features of this year’s poll is its three-horse race nature, despite the sponsorship of candidates by 14 other political parties. This development contrasts sharply with the 2020’s election in which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was pitted against the All Progressives Congress(APC). Understandably, one amongst Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC, Mr. OlumideAkpata of the Labour Party, and Mr. AsueIghodalo of the PDP will emerge the winner because of the ubiquity of their platforms in Edo State’s political scene unlike the others that are largely nondescript.
Expectedly, the leading candidates had in the run-up to the impending poll carried out state-wide campaigns to sell their candidature and the policies and programmes of their political parties. They have traversed the three senatorial districts, 14 local government areas, 192 wards, and 4,519 polling units in the state. A further penetration of the units would take place in the next 24 hours as the candidates and supporters embark on last-minute campaign before the curtain on public campaign is drawn on the election eve.
However, the preparations for the poll have been gripped by an atmosphere of fright and trepidation rather than hope and joyful expectations. Evidences of this unfortunate development are not only captured by accusations and counter-accusations of the candidates and their political parties but also threats of violence, which earlier manifested in the killing of the police orderly of the APC candidate, Inspector AkorOnu, last July in Benin City.
The pervading uncertainty came to a head last weekend when Mr. Ighodalo declined signing the peace accord mediated by the National Peace Committee as he alleged police bias and intimidation of PDP chieftains, some of whom were earlier arrested and still in detention in Abuja. Besides, the Edo State leadership of PDP had also called for redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC), Mr. AnugbumOnuoha and the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nemo Edwin-Iwo for what he alleged as their kinship and implied loyalty to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Mr. NyesomWike, who’s currently enmeshed in a battle of attrition with the governors produced by the party. However, INEC has rejected the call, just as the Police boss also dismissed the allegation.
We are indeed worried by the fluid political situation which if left unaddressed is an ill-wind that would below nobody any good. Therefore, the candidates, their parties, and supporters should tone down their rhetorics in order not to imperil the fragile peace in the state. Granted, the contest is largely between the Senator Adams Oshiohmole and Governor Obaseki who, as leaders of the APC and the PDP, have a score to settle, but it is an imperative for them to act as leaders’ worthy of emulation rather than portray themselves as desperadoes.
A good way to arrest the worrisome situation is for the police operatives and sister security agents to carry out their assignments before and after the election with professionalism. We would like to see the operations of the security devoid of partisanship and partiality as witnessed in parts of the country during the 2023 general elections. So, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. KayodeEgbetokun should admonish the 35,000 police officers and men already deployed for the exercise to put national interest above any other consideration.
What’s more, the Edo election is a lot must test of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections under its watch. As a precursor to the 2027 general elections, the success or otherwise of the Edo off-season poll will show the direction the country is headed in three years’ time. We entreat the president to rise to the occasion and act like a democrat and not as a politician who will rather compromise the rules of the games to ensure the victory of his party.
Our considered opinion is that the democratic principle which promotes ‘one man, one vote’ must be allowed to prevail without direct or indirect interference by INEC or any extra-legal body. Doing so will not only help the electoral body to redeem its battered image arising from its odious conduct in the recent elections but also help to deepen tdemocratic practice in the country. Let the choice of Edo people prevail on Saturday!
