This is obviously not be the best of times for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Not only because their winning horse, Governor Godwin Obaseki has resigned from the APC that gave him the ticket under which he ran for first term as Governor, but because the incumbent will now run for second term under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Aside from the above points, there are several other technical factors which may go a long way in preventing the party from parading a candidate in the forthcoming election if some drastic decisions are not urgently taken.
Let us xray these factors one after the other.
1. As at today, there are two State Chairmen of the APC in Edo State. The first is loyal to Governor Godwin Obaseki, while the second is loyal to the embattled APC Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
2. It will be recalled that the faction that is loyal to Governor Godwin Obaseki suspended Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from the Ward, and with the Appeal Court ruling upholding the suspension, it has granted legitimacy to the pro-Obaseki faction as the authentic faction.
3. Obviously, the faction that is loyal to Governor Obaseki never issued Pastor Ize Iyamu an APC membership card at the Ward level. The APC Card was likely issued to him by the Pro-Oshiomhole faction.
4. With the Appeal court ruling which implicitly gave the pro-Obaseki legitimacy in Edo State, and with the Pro-Obaseki faction refusing to move out of APC with the governor, the legitimacy of Pastor Ize Iyamu’s candidacy may undoubtedly collapse like a pack of cards.
5. With this ruling coming at the heels of the governorship primaries, the APC may just find itself under a tight corner where they may not be able to present a governorship candidate in the forthcoming elections.
About The Author
