says zoning has never been part of
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and businessman, Martins Osakue has said that Governor Godwin Obaseki alone cannot produce his successor from the PDP insisting that he must consult with leaders of the party to bring an acceptable person that he insist must be “a home boy”
In a chat with Vanguard in Benin City, Osakue also said that the issue of zoning that seemed to be taking the front seat has never been part of the PDP but that the leaders would zero on a competent person from the aspirants and mobilise for such person.
He said “We are seeing a kind of ‘diasporan’ politician to come and govern Edo, this should not continue, that is our point. Even when the governor has interest in who succeeds him, he should not be the sole determinant and who succeeds the governor is dependent on the person they are bringing.
“If you look at the history of PDP, we have never really zoned governorship, it has always been open it is the leaders, when all of them appear, it is the leaders that will quietly pick among them but when you start the process and say it must be this zone or that zone, then you have started creating problems from the beginning. Right from the UPN and NPN time, we have never really zoned.
“This idea of creating emperor governors has been the greatest undoing of the 1999 constitution. The constitution didn’t provide for it but gradually we started seeing governors having more powers than the President.
“It should not continue. Mark my words. It is not that a governor should not have a say in who succeeds him but he should not be the determinant.
“He should not be the one to say it must be this person. The person you choose will determine the support you have. If, for instance, we chose a world bank as governor in the last eight years and he has transformed Edo State. The first thing people will suggest is that let’s go for another international consultant. Esan will get special attention, if they bring any good person from there.”
On the rumour that the governor already has a technocrat in mind in the person of Asue Ighodalo as his successor, Osakue who is also the proprietor of one of the thriving private schools in the state said “I don’t know him. We don’t know him. I have played politics here for more than forty years since 1978. I was in UPN (Unity Party of Nigeria). I was a founding member of PDP. It is when you know people that you know their pedigree. I look at this man, what has he done for my constituency which is education?
“What has he done for Education? How many people is he training? What free Education programme do we have? What has he done for his community? There are people in Edo Central you can present to us. That is what leadership does.
“They called me. I told them that they were cooking bad soup. I didn’t mince words. That soup is already rotten. Nobody will eat it unless you want to have a running stomach. You want to go to the hospital. I don’t want to go to the hospital at this stage. I won’t have a hand in that. That project is dead on arrival.
“Morally, it is even wrong for governors to determine their successors. Why? It blocks a major ingredient of democracy – accountability and transparency. Why are you picking this person?
“Look at the difference with Oshiomhole, because he goes to his place Iyamu regularly, he could not afford to allow the Benin –Auchi road to be in a state of disrepair. That was the advantage we got from a local person.”
On the next kind of governor the state deserves, Osakue said “That experience has taught the PDP leadership that being a technocrat or international consultant is not a prerequisite for governance or leadership.
“What we need is what I have called a ‘politnocrat’. He is somebody who has experience in politics, who is home with the culture of the people and who has experience in human and economic resource management. That’s a ‘politnocrat. Somebody has called the person a home boy.
“Our next governor will be a home boy. The person who will be governor will combine the qualities of Samuel Ogbemudia and Ambrose Alli.
“How do you do this? You will take the visionary, developmental approach of Ogbemudia. His developmental vision, his tenacity, his selfless distribution of amenities and projects across the state. That was what Ogbemudia was known for.
“Then you come to the UPN governor, Ambrose Alli. You take his selflessness, his humaneness, his compassion and empathy.
“These two qualities, compassion and selflessness, you needed. The combination of these two have been absent for a while now. We need the sagacity of an Ogbemudia.
“When we are looking for a governor we are looking for somebody who grew up amongst us. Who knows the value of Edo State being a transportation hub in the country. Who knows the value of Edo State being a link between the West, the East and the North.
“A governor who is compassionate and empathetic enough to make sure that the Benin – Auchi Road is never bad.
“A governor who will make sure that whether it is federal or state the people who live here are the voters. That your first priority is the welfare of these voters.
“We have one father, that is the Oba of Benin. A governor who will see the Oba of Benin without being prompted and go on his knees whether it is at the airport in London or anywhere. That’s the governor. It’s not been subservient. A man who does not recognize the dictates of his culture is not a man because you’re a product of your culture.”
On the crisis in the PDP in Edo State, Osakue said that there is only one PDP in the state adding, “you can call it the authentic PDP or the Legacy PDP led by Chief Dan Orbih.
“The chairman of the party has kind of abdicated. He left his position. He watched while his house was being destroyed. We’re rebuilding. As far as the party is concerned the process of rebuilding is in top gear. We are prepared for 2024.
“Everybody knows that the governor in 2024 will come from those you have identified as Legacy PDP who I will call the original PDP.
“We will produce the governor. As to what kind of governor we will have it would be determined by the experience that we have had in the last 18 years.
“Let me say without equivocation that we know those who should not be governor, who cannot be governor and who ought not to aspire to be governor.”
VANGUARD
