News Introduction:
The people of Edo central senatorial district
protest the alleged marginalisation of the zone in the appointment to
political offices. - By Victor Osehobo
Esan ethnic nationality. Those affected included Anselm Ojezua, a lawyer who served as commissioner for information and orientation as well as Lucas Okojie, who was commissioner for transport. Others were Peter Okoh, special adviser to the governor on environment and Dr. Sunday Edeko,
special adviser on education, his two senior special assistants, Theophillus Afuda and Mrs. Caro Agada as well as two transition committee chairmen, Tom Adodo, for Igueben local government and Tony Momodu, the transition committee chairman for Esan central local government. The governor also sacked Phillip Olumese, chairman of the board of Edo State Broadcasting Service and Frank Erewele, who was the state organising secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Edo State the governor’s party and who also doubled as chairman, Edo State Water Board.
The governor said that his action was because they failed to deliver the district to the ACN during the general elections. The party lost but one of the nine elective offices it fielded candidates to the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The ACN won only the Esan southeast seat in the state House of Assembly. Despite the expectation of the people that the zone would produce the speaker, the candidate later emerged deputy speaker of the House. They thought that since the governor was from the north, which is dominated by Afrnmai ethnic group, his deputy from the Benin dominated south, the central senatorial district should produce the speaker of the legislature. But this was not to be as the speakership went to the south senatorial zone.
This situation was justified by the Benin Renaissance Group from Edo south which said that “This is payback time for those of us who worked hard during the elections to return our senatorial candidate in the person of Mr. Ehigie Uzamere. We also returned three House of Representatives candidates and 10 other candidates for the state House of Assembly.” The leader of the group, Chief Osato Ogbeiwi added that by this singular feat the zone has demonstrated its support for the Adams Oshiomhole administration, his developmental strides and need to continue to deepen those core values the society has since yearned for. “We demand that the minimum we can get for our loyalty to the party and for working hard to sustain the values of good governance is to compensate us with the speakership position,” Ogbewi added. The group also argued that by virtue of the reality that Edo south is dominated by Benin ethnic group and makes up 67 percent of the state’s population, the office of the speaker should come to them, adding that it will not be the first time that one zone would be holding two vital state positions under a political dispensation. It referred to the scenario between 1999 and 2007 when the state chairman of the party; the governor and speaker as well as the minister were from Edo central. Ogbewi noted that even between 2008 and 2009, a similar episode played out with Edo north producing the governor and speaker while the post of deputy governor was from Edo south whereas the zone has over 65 percent of the state’s voting population.
Last week, some aggrieved members of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria from Edo central protested what they tagged “injustice, marginalisation and deceit” meted on them by the party and governor. They said that they lost out in the appointment of key positions during the last four years of Oshimohole’s government in the state and warned against a repeat. The aggrieved party faithful made up of elders, women and youths carrying placards with various inscriptions stormed the state house of assembly and the government house where they lodged their complaints. One of the complaints is that of the 39 key political positions during the last four years of the ACN-led administration, only five went to central, which the state government said, was because the zone did not vote for the ruling party in 2007 and 2011. They said during the period the ACN gave all the choice political posts like the governor, deputy governor, speaker, chief of staff, secretary to the state government, SSG, head of service and other key heads of agencies and parastatals to Edo south and Edo north leaving out Edo central.
According to the demonstrators, Edo central got only five out of the 35 permanent secretaries. “Esan ethnic nationality has less than five percent of all the recruitments in the last four years (we) challenge the state government to publish the list of the entire workforce in the state for the world to see how it reflects the federal character principle which is constitutional.”
The protesters with placards also kicked against what they called “political oppression” and urged the government to ensure that justice and equity prevail in the ongoing appointment into various positions
of new administration. The spokespersons of the protesters, Steve Amedu and Sunday Okougbo said “we that stood by you during the July 14 gubernatorial election in Edo State have become laughing stock and therefore wish to ask you to do a thorough assessment of your cabinet members that are yet to be announced so as to bridge the imbalance that has already been created.
The people of Edo central senatorial district overwhelmingly supported and voted for you in the July 14, 2012 gubernatorial election. We massively turned our backs against our own to support you in the July 14 election. In spite of the fact that it was clear that Edo central was marginalised during the first tenure and a number of people wanted to use that as a basis to dissuade Edo central electorate from voting for you, Esan Youth Movement maintained our ground and stood solidly behind you,” they said.
The spokespersons added that from 1999 till 2010 the speaker of the state House of Assembly came from Edo central senatorial district by virtue of the federal character principle in the sharing of the state’s three key administrative offices, the governor, was from Edo north, deputy governor from Edo south and the speaker of the legislature from Edo central. This they said gave the three senatorial districts a sense of belonging, which should be maintained.
Joined in championing Edo central’s cause is the Network for Democracy and Environment, NDE led by Osato Uwadiae who said that the protest boils down to the office of speaker which has been denied them. Uwadiae said this would have grave political consequences and called on the leadership of the ACN in Edo to go back to the zoning formula whereby Edo central senatorial district produced the speaker of the State assembly. This he said will help maintain the existing peace and harmony in the state. He said that insinuations in certain quarters that Edo south should retain the speaker of the assembly because Edo central voted out the former Speaker is no longer tenable as taking off the third vital leg of a tripod will lead to its fall. “Under the current set up Edo central has an ACN legislator; the party hierarchy should rally round to give the speakership to the only member of the state assembly” from the zone.
In May this year the ACN in the state explained its rationale for sharing political offices in a manner which appeared to have left Edo central out of the power tripod soon after last year’s general elections. Addressing a mammoth crowd of party supporters at Eguare primary school, Irrua in Edo central, venue for the governorship campaign of the ACN, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, director general of Oshiomhole campaign organisation said that the Esan people lost out in the sharing formula basically due to what he described as “non-acceptance of the ACN by the people. “The office of the speaker eluded you because of the fact that Edo central did not vote the ACN.” He said the people of the senatorial district should not repeat the mistake of the past if they must make their presence felt in the sharing formula of political offices in the new dispensation. Ize-Iyamu, who reminded the Esan speaking Edo central senatorial district of the need to fight oppression and godfatherism urged them to key into the policies and programmes of the comrade governor by massively turning out to vote the ACN in the July 14 governorship election. “A vote for the broom is a vote for good governance; a vote for the broom is a vote for good roads, good healthcare, good and qualitative education, and good governance,” he added.
At the end of the polls in July, Edo central gave ACN overwhelming support by delivering her five local government areas. And last week the ACN began re-implementing its zoning formula with Edo north retaining the governorship, the majority leader of the state house of assembly, secretary to the state government with the appointment of Professor Julius Ihonvbere, while Edo south retained the deputy governorship, the speaker of the House of Assembly, the chief of staff to the governor and the head of service. Edo central was left with the deputy speaker and chairman of the party.
NigerianNewsWorld
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