Edo people will vote against any candidate Obaseki anoints – PDP chieftain

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The General Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state, Hilary Otsu, has said that the party will lose next year’s governorship election if Governor Godwin Obaseki fields a candidate.

He lamented that Obaseki did not have the goodwill needed to promote an unpopular candidate in the state, adding that most of the candidates fielded by the governor during the 2023 general election were unknown.

Otsu said the action was the reason the PDP suffered defeats at the hands of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) in the state during the 2023 elections.

He, then, added the party stalwarts have affirmed that they would not queue behind any stranger Obaseki fields to succeed him next year.

“Legacy will nominate a governor and deputy of our choice, and PDP will become much stronger. Trust me, most of Governor Obaseki’s closest political allies have echoed it that Edo state will never accept another stranger to govern its people,” Otsu said.

“Governor Obaseki does not have the kind of goodwill needed to promote an unknown stranger in Edo State. When Oshiomole did it with him, Oshiomole had optimal goodwill and acceptance. If Edo people are given a choice today, they will vote against any candidate that Governor Obaseki supports.”

Otsu added, “I stand to be corrected but all the candidates fielded by Gov. Obaseki during the 2023 general elections were unpopular and most voters in their various constituencies were also aware of the illegal processes which brought them.

“So, many of the voters who followed all that transpired leading the emergence of Obaseki’s candidates worked and voted against them and most PDP supporters opted to work against the illegal candidates by supporting other candidates.

“That’s why you see that in many places they gave support to APC candidates and in some, to Labour candidates, leading to unprecedented victories for those Parties. For example PDP has never lost Edo Central and South Senatorial seats before, while a Labour candidate swept the Edo South Senate seat, after leaving PDP for Labour just a few months to the election.”