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Power of the godfather. That’s what we are witnessing in Edo. It played out in Lagos in the last governorship election. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stopped Akinwunmi Ambode’s second term bid for “falling out of line”. Heaven did not fall.
Sadly, Ambode is still liking his wounds and nursing his political injuries. He appears to have been deserted. He is more of a political orphan. That’s what godfatherism and those who believe in it and benefit from it experience. You could be a victor, victim or villain….It depends on your choice of card.
Not all godfathers have a firm grip and control of a party’s structure in their domain. Not all godfathers have strong grassroots presence. Tinubu has both and he proved it in 2019 governorship election in Lagos.
Adams Oshiomhole is gradually proving to have control of the party’s structure in Edo State following the disqualification of Godwin Obaseki by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in forthcoming governorship election
It is left to be seen if Obaseki will crosscarpet to pick up the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket just like Samuel Ortom did in Benue State in 2019 when he fell out with the governing APC. Ortom proved that he was in control of the party’s structure in his state…..with strong grassroots support.
This was what Rochas Okorocha lacked when hurricane Oshiomhole swept Imo in the 2019 governorship election. Okorocha wanted his Chief of Staff and son-inlaw to succeed him but his dream was scuttled and Senator Hope Uzodinma who barely spent six months in the party after defecting from PDP got APC governorship ticket and eventually became governor of Imo.
Has Obaseki built his structure enough to pull his supporters to PDP assuming he defects? Is he ready and willing to defect to PDP? Does he have the support or followership? Can he ruffle feathers or flex muscles in the election proper given Oshiomhole’s posture?
Fingers crossed….We wait to see how things pan out….We wait to see how this battle ends.
@ Desmond Ekwueme
