The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has been divided over the capacity of Governor Godwin Obaseki to secure victory for the party at the 2020 governorship polls.
The wrangling stemmed from the adoption of Obaseki as the party’s candidate by some leaders of the party in Oredo Local Government Area of the state.
The Chairman of the party in the LGA, Goodwill Alabi, and Secretary, Magdalene Isekhure, had in a statement said the governor deserved a second term because of his achievements.
“We call on him to run for a second term and hereby adopt Governor Godwin Obaseki as our sole candidate for the 2020 governorship election in the state,” the statement read.
READ ALSO: President Buhari condoles with South Africa as flood claims 87 lives, destroys properties
But the development didn’t go down well with some leaders of the party in Edo North.
A leader from the local government told newsmen, “How could they be talking about endorsement when they did not win election? The Oredo leaders did not consult ward and unit leaders. What they did is undemocratic and capable of giving victory to the PDP. How can people that could not deliver their units endorse a candidate when the election is not near?”
Following the rejection by the Edo North APC, another group within the party in the state, under the aegis of APC Revival Group, vowed to edge out Obaseki for any other candidate supported by the party’s National Chairman, Adama Oshiohmole.
The convener of the group, and former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Henry Idahagbon, lamented that the governor had abandoned them, adding that he had lost touch with the politics of the state.
“A governor who could not deliver his unit, he couldn’t win his ward, he couldn’t win his local government area, he couldn’t win his senatorial district, that’s a vote of no confidence in him by the people of the state.”