Edo 2024: Who stepped down for Ighodalo?
The Eagle Gate Investigative Reporters have spent time over the last six months monitoring the political and social media space on the Actors gearing up for the Gubernatorial election holding in September 2024 in Edo State.
The major parties in the contest the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labor Party (LP) all make front page from time to time. The PDP, however, is foremost because it not only currently holds the seat of Government, but it has also had its fair share of crisis since the entrance of Obaseki into the party. The party has been severely fractured and the hope of reconciliation on time to win the election this year retaining the seat of government is most important.
The crisis has deepened with the entrance of Asuelimen Ighodalo into the contest. Although an Edo by lineage, whose father comes from the Edo Central District, he has never been one of them socially or politically. In the 2020 election the slogan then was “Edo no bi Lagos”. This meant two things godfatherism will not be accepted and certainly Edo was not going to be possessed like Lagos is by a man or two. Not until late last year 2023 did Ighodalo pick his PDP party card from his ward. He has no political experience and unlike Obaseki who was coming from another political party with the seat of government, Ighodalo has nothing to offer in this regard.
It is rumoured that “Ighodalo is the governor’s candidate.” We say rumoured because the governor has said twice on air that he has no preferred candidate and also made a statement in Abuja that he will support whomever the party brings. This is difficult to believe when Ighodalo moves around Edo State with taxpayers’ money and the trimmings of the governor’s office, from vehicles, staff, resources and obviously on social media people appointed as Special Assistants, Senior Special Assistants on government payroll promoting Ighodalo 24/7. While trying to make Edo people believe he is a wealthy man and has a lot of money to throw around.
In Edo Central District, nine persons showed interest to contest for governor. The Edo Central PDP Special committee was set up to come up with the best scenario for which they could win. This committee led by High Chief Tom Ikhimi met on December 3, 2023, and interacted with seven (7) out of nine (9) aspirants on that day. The list of aspirants did not include the name Kenneth Abhulimen. The committee promised to meet with leaders in Edo South and North districts respectively to determine the way forward and a meeting was scheduled for January 4, 2024, a month later.
In that time period, two persons on the Edo Central PDP Special committee were made Special Advisers to the Governor. Rt. Hon. Friday Itulah started working for Asuelimen Ighodalo and Kenneth Abhulimen who was never one of the aspirants in the first place is Personal Assistant to one of the special advisers in the district. It is these persons Itulah and Abhulimen who are on payroll that have stepped down for Ighodalo.
The Ighodalo grapevine social media personnel went on to misinform the public that all aspirants had stepped down for him. This is false.
Our investigative reporters having made contact with three of the aspirants want to inform the public that Anselm Ojezua, Felix Akhabue and Clifford Ordia are currently making plans to go to the next level and are still very much in the contest for Governor.