By Ikponmwonsa Aipangbe
Ahead of the Edo State governorship election scheduled for September this year, political developments in the state have been quite interesting in many ways.
In this regard, there are two major blocs, proponents of zoning and opponents of zoning.
For clarity, at the level of the political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), from the outset, declared that it was not zoning the governorship position, that aspirants from the three senatorial districts are free to contest for the position. On the basis of this, party members are canvassing for their preferred aspirants across the three senatorial districts.
On the contrary, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have not been quite categorical on the issue of zoning, thereby leaving their members confused.
The fiercest proponents of zoning have been from the Central Senatorial District of the state, who argue that, since the commencement of the current political dispensation in 1999, the South and North Senatorial Districts have in turn occupied the governorship position of the state for 16 and eight years, respectively, to the disadvantage of the Central Senatorial District, which has occupied the position for only 18 months.
They, therefore, argue that, for equity and fairness, the Central District should be allowed to produce the next governor.
Incidentally, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ACN, now All Progressives Congress (APC), have taken their turns to produce the governorship for the three districts, including Central, which had it for 18 months.
The opponents of zoning the governorship, especially from Edo South and North, are contending that the people of the state should of their free will elect the best candidate to govern the state, instead of zoning the governorship to a particular senatorial district.
They argue that the Central Senatorial District did not remember equity and fairness when the district held sway in the affairs of government in the past.
They recall that time was when Chief Tony Anenih of blessed memory was Minister of Works, Dr. Joseph Itotoh served as Minister of Education, Sen. Odion Ugbesia as Minister of Solid Minerals, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor as Governor of Edo State and Architect Mike Onolememen as Minister of State for Works.
Besides, they recall that the Central Senatorial District appropriated many ‘Grade A’ board positions to their people, including former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Matthew Egbadon, who served as executive secretary to Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) board, despite the district having the least voting population in the state.
During this period, development was focused on the Central Senatorial District, to the exclusion of the South Senatorial District, which has the largest voting population in the state but the people of the district remained calm.
There is no provision for zoning in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which a section of this state is trying to elevate to a right in their quest to produce the next governor of the state.
Specifically, the opponents of zoning from Edo South contend that the district is better placed on the platform of Labour Party to produce the next governor because of its 60 percent population and the dominance and performance of LP in the last presidential election in the state.
Leveraging on its strength in the South Senatorial District, LP produced a senator in the person of Neda Imasuen and a House of Representatives member, Esosa Ogbewi, who represents Oredo Federal Constituency at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
It will be in the best interest of the party to build on these successes by ensuring a credible, free and fair primary to nominate its governorship candidate from the South.
The coming together of the people of the district to form a common front comprising politicians from different political parties and other people from different walks of life underscores their resolve and prioritization of the governorship project in line with the principle, which says, “In politics, the majority should have its way while the minority should have its say.”
It is, therefore, also equitable that the Edo South Senatorial District be allowed to benefit from its population advantage and produce the next governor of Edo State.
•Aipangbe writes from Benin