By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—A chieftain of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State and Special Adviser to Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Political Matters, Chief Charles Idahosa, has said that Governor Oshiomhole has ended the era of imposition of candidates in the state. According to him, the party will not make the mistakes of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state which, he claimed, had imposed candidates since 1999.

Describing as unfair, allegations that the governor intended to impose Mr Godwin Obaseki on the party as the governorship candidate, Idahosa explained: “This one is not imposition but he is saying that this is his preferred candidate. There is no way a governor of a state will not have an interest in who succeeds him, particularly when you talk about Edo State that was dead before Oshiomhole came in.

“Today, we know what Edo State looks like. Oshiomhole has worked very hard, whether anybody likes his face or not, there is nothing you can do about that. He has worked very hard and he must be concerned about who takes over from him. Let me tell you, I have gone through this road before. I contested for governorship against Oshiomhole. I ran for Senate in this state some time ago.

“In the senatorial race when most of us were in the PDP, there were no primaries. They took us to the residence of Chief Igbinedion and decided that the choice was Daisy Danjuma. The heavens did not fall.

“When people start shouting Oshiomhole’s name when he has not done anything, I begin to wonder whether they are all right. In the governorship election, the same thing happened.

“It may interest you to know that in 2006-2007, Osagie Ize-Iyamu was interested in running for governorship and I was equally interested. But Igbinedion called us to his swimming pool in his house and said that all of us should get out of the race and he warned Ize-Iyamu.

“That was the power of incumbency. Lucky warned everybody that he would decide who would take over from him. So, if Oshiomhole comes out now to say I have worked with all these people and it is Obaseki I feel should take over from me, I don’t see why the hue and cry. I am the only living person in Edo State today that contested the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, primaries with Oshiomhole. He won and I accepted to be his Political Adviser.”