By Tony Osauzo
Charity, they say, begins at home. Therefore, how Mr. Julius Abure, the National chairman of the Labour Party and the leadership of the party handle the conduct of the party’s governorship primaries in Edo State will determine whether the party is prepared to win the governorship election scheduled for September 2 next year or it will just participate in the election as a matter of fulfilling all righteousness as it did in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states elections with nothing to show.
Stakeholders, aspirants and party members are worried that few weeks to the primaries, guidelines for the conduct are yet to be made public. This has raised suspicion that the handlers of the party are into something sinister. Indeed, there are speculations that a plot is being hatched to ensure that the primaries will be tailored to produce the governorship candidate from a preferred Senatorial District.
For instance, no one is sure how the delegates who will participate in the primary election to nominate the governorship candidate will emerge, as the whole process is being conducted in secrecy and therefore, opaque.
Many critical observers insist that for clarity, Labour Party must prove to the electorate that it is different from the traditional political parties by conducting its affairs in a transparent manner. This is the only way to retain the confidence and support of the electorate who came out in their numbers to give the party victory at the last Presidential election in the state.
In other words, the Labour Party must conduct a free, fair and credible primaries to nominate the most popular and qualified aspirant as its candidate for the governorship election. In the opinions of many, the National Chairman and the leadership of the party must avoid the imposition of a governorship candidate on the party if the LP is desirous of winning the election.
Such imposition of candidates which occurred during the last general elections is still fresh In people’s memories with the attendant subsisting litigations which have done the party no good.
At the moment, even the traditional political parties which had held power have abandoned the principle of zoning the governorship in Edo State. Labour Party that is yet to win the coveted governorship seat cannot afford to act differently. The issue of zoning could be considered in future only after the party has entrenched itself in power and governance of the state.
The consequences of manipulating the primaries to favors a perceived aspirant from a particular Senatorial District could be dire for the winning chances of the Labour Party in the forthcoming governorship election. Such manipulation will mark the beginning of the failure of the party, as skewed primaries will force other aspirants and their supporters to withdraw their support for the party and align with other candidates in the election who would be ready to meet their demands.
The argument is that now is the time for Labour Party to dispel the suspicion in the minds of many stakeholders and members that it will not do the right thing in Edo State by conducting its affairs transparently to retain their confidence.
In this regard, the National chairman, Julius Abure and the leadership of the party must come clean and quickly make public the guidelines for the primaries to assure stakeholders and members that the party is indeed participating in the election to win.
For emphasis, a transparent, free and credible primaries is the pillar for party unity and cohesion and the only road that leads to victory in an election.
The National Chairman, Julius Abure is from Edo State and should ensure that the right thing is done for others to emulate.