Charles Idahosa is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State. He speaks in this interview on the 2024 governorship election in the state and the clamour for zoning in political quarters, among other issues, FRANCIS OGBUAGU reports
You have always maintained that the best should emerge as governor of Edo State come 2024. Do you still maintaining that position or you have joined those who believe that the governorship should go to the Edo Central?
There is nothing like let it go to the Central. In the history of Edo State, there has never been a time that we have said let the Binis go this time or let the Esan or that only Edo North will go this time. I know where my mind is. I don’t have anything against those from Edo Central. In fairness, they have the right to contest just like the Benin man or somebody from Edo North. If you check, had there be any time when primaries were held for the Binis, Esan or people from Edo North? Everybody will go to the field and the person who wins becomes our candidate. I don’t like people bringing the sentiment of it is their turn.
They should bring their best. I have spoken to a lot of my friends from Esan. The Edo State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is Esan, the state chairman of PDP is Esan, the Labour Party (LP) national chairman is Esan. They should go and influence their parties’ structures, not PDP. The reason is that PDP will be waiting for what the APC will do and if they take their candidate from Edo South, PDP will follow them, because no party will want to lose the election. The last time Obaseki contested; it was against a Benin man Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
We saw what happened. I am from a border town, my community is very close to Esan, they farm in our land and we speak Esan. Some people will even say we are Esan because the Bini we speak is mixed with Esan because of proximity. People do bring sentiment into it but look at how it’s now. Almost every Esan person is an aspirant. What they need to do is to close ranks. What they should do is to harmonize and bring a good candidate. When Obaseki ran, he ran with Esan people. Now PDP will be watching APC and APC will be watching PDP.
We also have Labour Party. You cannot underrate any- body because they shocked us last time. So, what they should do is to close ranks and influence the major political parties to pick their candidates from Edo Central. With that, nobody will have any other option. You know politics has some ethnic sentiments and the Binis may be saying that it is the governorship that they can hold on to. Some people are saying that the late Augustus Aikhomu was the former Vice President and trans- formed Iruekpen, Mike Akhigbe was also Vice President and also transformed Fugar, that the Binis has only the governor.
But then, as I said, the best thing to do is to persuade the leaders of the three political parties to zero in to Edo Central. When it happens, we would have no option but to vote for somebody from Edo Central. This one PDP is saying zone to us; they are just playing game. Don’t you know a governor that can produce his successor? I have made many political enemies and a particular one is Adams Oshiomhole because of Obaseki. But the truth of the matter is that myself and Oshiomhole have met once or twice and you won’t even know, we greeted each other very well, but we were watching each other closely. He is a very good man, a very kind man. I enjoyed working with him because he listens.
He will try to impose his idea, but if you have a superior argument, he will allow you have your way. I worked with him for eight years as Political Adviser. I also worked with Igbinedion for three years but the three years was interrupted. In Oshiomhole’s administration as a political adviser, he called me and said he wants Patrick Obahiagbon to go to the Senate but I said that I that I prefer Samson Osagie and he said no. But I told him to sponsor his candidate, while I support my own candidate and let’s go to the field. We went to the field and I defeated him. That is something that cannot happen now.
The governor cannot talk and a commissioner or adviser will say no. That is Oshiomhole for you but we crashed. I have no regrets. Anytime we run into each other, we will greet. You see, it was not Obaseki that I was fighting for. Why I fought Oshiomhole was that when we started, Ize-Iyamu was very close to me. He is like a younger brother to me. His big brothers were my mates. But Oshiomhole recked him. In the second election, we did not campaign, we were playing Oshiomhole’s video. He said Ize-Iyamu is this, he is that.
Oshiomhole called and said it is Obaseki he wanted, I said okay. It was easy for me because Obaseki was my school mate though I was ahead of him in Edo College. We all went to work and produced Obaseki. I know all we did to produce Obaseki. You guys should not forget that the election was postponed. According to the opinion polls then, if that election was held as scheduled, Ize-Iyamu would have won. We did some things and Obaseki won. Four years down the line, he (Oshiom- hole) came back to say that he doesn’t want him (Obaseki) again.
Remember that he had called me to say that it is Obaseki that he wanted for some reasons that I cannot say now. But he started praising Ize- Iyamu. Do I look like a fool? He did not have the courtesy to come and tell me. If he has done that, I would have told him that I can’t do that. It is ‘see finish.’ Late Tony Anineh, an Esan man, was the one dictating for the Binis who should be this, who should be that and now Oshiomhole, an Etsako man wants to continue from there. That was why I said that I was not fighting for Obaseki.
If it were another Bini man, I would have done the same thing. Nobody can be dictating for us, the Binis. Oshiomhole told me the Obaseki was his brain box, he is a financial magician. That was why I said that the next governor should be a home boy, not a financial magician. ‘Not, he too know book; not he is a magician for Lagos or that he get oil company for Port Harcourt, that he can conjure money.’ He must be one of us, eats with us in Igu Street and drinks with us at the Press Centre. We are not importing any expatriate.
What is your take on the recent local government elections in the state?
It is local government elections. That is how it has always been. I was a local government chairman and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted that election. Now the states are in charge of the elections. How can you be washing your wound and you are crying? It has been like that and it will continue to be so. The previous government taught him how to do it. I that know from day one. A lot of our people that contested, I said don’t bother ‘’na home game be this.’
What are your expectations from the 2024 governorship election in the state?
The 2024 governorship election will be free and fair. The last general election was the freest and fair election we have ever conducted. I couldn’t win my area. That is why when I see people abuse INEC, I fill very sorry for them. Ten sitting governors could not win Senate seats. Their states divided into three, they could not win it. Buhari lost Katsina to PDP, Tinubu lost in Lagos.
I don’t know if they should go and bring an angel because with BVAS (Bimodal Voters Accreditation System) there is little or no room for manipulation. I am not going to tell you what we used to do before, but with BVAS, it is impossible to do it now. For the 2024 election, some people are saying: Tinubu is there, APC will win. Everybody has to work because, you can’t have more votes than recorded by BVAS.
There was this incident that happened when you were in the contest for a senatorial seat, but all of a sudden, you called a press conference and said you are withdrawing from the race. What really happened?
What happened with all sense of modesty was that when I was aspiring to go to the Senate, I discovered that most of those running for the position didn’t even know what they are going there to do. They were saying they will build roads, bridges and hospitals. But what I did was to campaign throughout the Edo South and to tell the people that senators don’t build bridges and that their duties are to make laws that will benefit the people.
There are some communities in the seven local government areas that I visited and after addressing the people, they started weeping but when the primary election was about coming. Mrs. Daisy Danjuma was in the race, Jim Adun was there. I said, let’s go to primaries, but one morning, I was in my campaign office and a massage came that we are needed at Chief Igbinedion’s house. When I got there, I met our former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Chief Igbinedion and the late Stella Obasanjo.
After some talks, they said President Olusegun Obasanjo is interested and I had already paid N1 million. Till today, I have not been refunded that N1 million. They told us that there will be no primaries. And I raised my hand and said that we must go to the primaries. They said I was on my own. That was why I called that press briefing to call off the campaign.
