By Nnaemeka Iruke
We are barely 24 hours away from the Edo state election scheduled for September 21, 2024. The big question on everyone’s mind remains who becomes Edo state’s Executive Governor. With an overall of 17 candidates; one female and 16 males, the race for the highest elective position in the state can be said to be between three major parties; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressive Congress (APC), and the Labour Party (LP).
It is worthy of note that both candidates of the APC and LP are trained and practising lawyers who had previously worked in chambers they co-founded. The LP candidate was the former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), a professional association of lawyers admitted to the Bar by the Council of Legal Education in Nigeria. The PDP candidate, on the other hand, is a founding partner of Banwo and Ighodalo a corporate and commercial law practice. it was founded alongside Femi Olubanwo.
With two out of the three candidates being legal practitioners, the prediction of legal drama and litigation cases is expected after the elections have been concluded. On the other hand, the victory of any of these two candidates might mean a strengthening of the NBA within the state as the candidate would be regarded as one of their own.
While the APC candidate might not have been a legal practitioner, he hasn’t been far from the law as he was a formal lawmaker under PDP in 2023.
Meet the major Candidates
Senator Monday Okpebholo, representing Edo Central Senatorial District under the APC, is widely known for his strong community development initiatives and is respected as a dedicated public servant and philanthropist.
Asuerinme Ighodalo, a PDP candidate from Edo Central Senatorial District, is a renowned Nigerian lawyer. He co-founded the law firm Banwo and Ighodalo, a corporate and commercial law practice, along with Femi Olubanwo.
Olumide Akpata, hailing from Edo South Senatorial District, was a senior partner at Templars Law Firm, where he led the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group until his resignation in August 2023.
Edo South has been attributed to having the highest votes in the state’s election. So far the senatorial district has produced two governors, Lucky Igbenedion and the incumbent Godwin Obaseki.
This year, there has been a clamour for the position to be given to the Edo central senatorial district, thus only the LP candidate coming from the South. While the LP candidate, Akpata is said to have had a positive impact during his time as NBA president, the conversation of his party (often regarded as a third force) being able to pull any weight has been a subject of discussion. This is largely due to the fact that the party’s popularity only grew on the backs of its 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi known for his ‘Obidient Movement’. Regardless of this, the party has been neck-deep in crisis and political factions. Many say that trouble is too early for a party with less political weight to be struggling with.
Likely to win?
Recent polls suggest that the PDP Candidate Ighodalo Asuerinme is likely to win the election. The poll conducted between August 12th to 16th 2024 aimed at capturing the perceptions and attitudes of Edo state citizens puts Ighodalo ahead of the other candidates.
While both Akpata and Okpebholo are established legal practitioners abreast with the constitution and rule of law, it might just be that Ighodalo became a favourite as a result of political experience proving the term experience is the best teacher correct. But are polls always right?
In 2019 the Economist claimed that Atiku was likely to win the 2019 elections ahead of the then incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. Unfortunately, the actual election results did not reflect the online polls. in 2023, Nextier claimed that its online polls put Peter Obi, the third force candidate of the Labour Party ahead as the winner of the elections. In reality, Obi came third.
Godfatherism in the State
Godfatherism has been a major issue in the Nigerian political ecosystem, and Edo state has not proven to be different.
In 2016 the then-governor of the state Adams Oshiomole supported Godwin Obaseki to become governor defeating PDP’s Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. In 2020, Obaseki and Oshiomole had a serious fallout resulting in Obaseki decamping to PDP while Ize-Iyamu contested under the APC with the backing of Oshiomole. Ize-Iyamu however lost his governorship bid spitting Oshiomole as not in control of the state. This election thus, is an election between the three candidates or between Oshiomole and Obaseki, both of whom have not hesitated to tag demeaning political jabs at each other whenever a chance presents itself.
In the current election race, the PDP candidate has the backing of the incumbent governor, Obaseki while the APC candidate has the support of former governor Oshiomole these two are expected to influence the election. However, it’s not just a race for influence but for power, who is likely to garner much influence and prove to be the true leader of the state.
