Edo Polls: Oshiomhole Kicks Against APC Primary Zoning

A former Governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has queried the issue of zoning the state gubernatorial slot, noting that President Boa Tinubu was committed to free and fair primaries not based on zoning.

He made the statement while speaking with State House correspondents after he met behind closed doors with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa Abuja, 

As the party prepares for the re-run of the primary election ahead of the gubernatorial election to be held in the state in September 2024, Oshiomhole noted that the Edo state chapter of the APC is not interested in “turn-by-turn democracy.”

The former national chairman of the ruling party kicked against the zoning arrangement lamenting that while the party is seeking zoning in Edo, it did not do so in Kogi where the kinsman of former Governor Yahaya Bello took over from him.

His meeting with the president followed the uproar caused by three candidates declaring themselves the winners of the primaries held last Saturday. The chairman of the primaries, Senator Uzodimma, announced Hon. Dennis Idahosa as the alleged candidate of Senator Oshiomhole.

Opponents of Idahosa in the Edo APC claimed that since he comes from the same Edo South Senatorial District as the current governor, Godwin Obaseki, who is wrapping up his eight-year, two-term term, authority had to be transferred to a new area. Oshiomhole asserted, however, that President Tinubu only stated his commitment to a free and fair primary after they spoke about the zoning issue.

According to him, Tinubu informed him that the majority of APC members’ wishes should take precedence over zoning when it came to the rescheduled primary. Oshiomhole argued that the APC cannot pick out Edo State for zoning after permitting Usman Ododo, the governor of Kogi State, to succeed Yahaya Bello despite their shared senatorial district and failing to block the Tivs from controlling the Benue State governorship elections. 

He said: “I came to see Mr. President and it is about the Edo governorship primaries. As I’m sure you know by now, the NWC had reasons of course to review the governorship primaries that were conducted last week as a result of controversies arising from the conduct of the primaries.

“So, today, as party member, and of course the leader of the party in Edo State, I came to discuss some of the issues that I think are relevant and also in order to ensure that the APC family in Edo State conduct themselves in a manner that Mr President will be proud of the outcome of the primaries, because at the end of the day, after the primary, we’re going to face the main election.

“They have a lot of rumours which I thought Mr. President should speak to and I needed some clarification from him because as the leader of the party, there are a couple of things that I want to be sure that I know where he stands. 

“One of them is the issue of zoning. The President has affirmed that he has no voting rights in Edo State even though the Edo people have the right to vote for the president. Therefore, what matters to him is to ensure that APC members in Edo State participate in the free and fair primaries.

“The president said that as far as he’s concerned, he is committed only to free and fair primaries not based on zoning because you don’t do zoning on the eve of the primary. “If there’s going to be zoning those involved in the decision will have to be so comprehensive that the people of the state understand it. And number two, if you have zoning, you will not allow people who are not from the particular zone to procure forms. 

“Now the national Secretariat of the party is on record as having issued the statement, which was widely used to the effect that the APC governorship ticket was open to anyone who is eligible to procure the nomination form which was why at the end of the day, we have 12 candidates that procured the form.

“So the key issue in my conversation with Mr. President is that the primary that has been rescheduled for tomorrow (today) to continue is not based on and will not be based on zoning, it will be based on free and fair primaries. 

“It is a continuation of the exercise that had some challenges arising from an individual proclaiming himself as a returning officer, which is completely strange to the rules of the party, which has led to what the media has widely reported as two factions, emerging. So that’s it.”

“Now what is fair in a democracy is not for any man including the president to single-handedly impose anyone. The fairness of the process is determined by whether or not the candidate that emerges is the true choice of the electorate, of the APC members. And that is where the President stands. 

“Now when you choose to single out Edo state, you are just being unfair. Is it not the same APC where recently, in Kogi State, you have back-to-back somebody from one senatorial zone succeeding the other? Why is Edo different? In Benue State, since 1999, you’ve had only people from one part, one particular language, the Tivs that have produced governor after governor since 1999. Are you about to change the rules? In any case, who are you and I to dictate to Edo APC members where their candidate must come from? 

“If you impose a candidate, as some of you want to suggest when you go for the election proper, are you going to tell people to vote based on your privileged elite consensus of turn-by-turn democracy? 

“We are not known for turn-by-turn democracy and I have been in Edo politics since 2007. I won the election against what the PDP considered to be the preferred candidate. Only the people of Edo State, in this case, and at this stage the people of APC, can nominate the candidate. I have the authority of the President to clarify this. His name should not be used recklessly by people who are afraid of free and fair elections,” Oshiomhole added.