Edo 2020: APC attributes party’s loss to taking electorate for granted, says wining Ondo poll is dicey

By Maria Ifafesobi
Akure
The Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has attributed its loss in the just concluded Saturday gubernatorial election in the state, as taking the electorates for granted.

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/ Extra Ordinary National Convention Committee, Barrister Ismail Ahmed said the emergence of Pastor Ize-Iyamu as the party’s flagbearer at the party’s primary election gave rise to an internal crisis among major stakeholders which was not properly managed.

Mr. Ahmed made this disclosure while giving a post mortem on the outcome of the election on Monday.

He added that the effect of this crisis on the electorate and the victory of the party was not considered before the election, which made the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Godwin Obaseki to have an edge over them.

He said:” Remember we ran against an incumbent governor and everybody knows the history of Edo governorship primary and there were a lot of circumstances we could not explain.

“We thought we had covered the ground fully well but there was a blindside we didn’t see. But the party has not officially done a post-mortem which we intend to do this week: The National Assembly is very busy, we are going to call a post-mortem to know how far and how we find ourselves in this kind of situation.”

While evaluating the party’s chances of winning the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State, Mr. Ahmed noted that winning the election might be a bit tough, judging by the division of party chieftains into different factions and the performance of the APC in the last general election. APC lost in Ondo State. He, however, said Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu had reconciled with the aggrieved members and they have assured him of their supports.

He added that the party will continue to strive to win the Ondo State October 10, governorship election.

He said, “As we go to Ondo State, we know that APC did not win the Presidential election in Ondo State. So, Ondo is also going to be very dicey but the governor has done most of the reconciliation that he needed to do based on what the reconciliation committee recommended for him. We are not going to take anything for granted anymore, we are not going to be sitting on our oars again, we are going to go out and fight to make sure that we retain that state (Ondo).

“It is very disheartening for us as members of the party that for the first time since 2015, the party does not have a single representation in the South-South in terms of state, that is something I’m absolutely unhappy about.

“For the first time, our party was the only party that has representation in all the states, except PDP in 2003 when President Obasanjo wanted to contest. Because in 1999, PDP had no representation in the South-West but for the first time, the APC had representation in all the geo-political zones since 2015 but now we have lost it.

“We have to work hard to regain it even though we won the election fair and square in 2019, but that is something we can’t take for granted any longer.”

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