APC's Constitution Throws Ize-Iyamu and Oshiomhole Into A Dangerous Political Dilemma

The happenings in Edo state political space has dominated current political discussions in Nigeria; this is due to the open conflict between Adams Oshiomhole, the APC's national chairman on one hand, and Godwin Obaseki, the Edo state incumbent governor who is also of the APC, on the other hand. But, alhough the conflict between Oshiomhole and Obaseki has been on, for the past 4-years, some events that have happened within the period, placed Adams Oshiomhole and his anointed candidate going into the APC primaries, Ize-iyamu in a political dilemma that has rendered them incapacitated in the present political process in Edo state, which if the APC insist on carrying through, will mean building on the premise of illegality that will not stand in the court of law. The party's constitution places eligibility for members benefiting from the party and participating in party's affairs, in ones recognition at the ward level. That is, one must have registered at the ward level and must continue to be a member at the ward level too, which makes anyone under suspension ineligible for any party's benefit. This has put both Ize-Iyamu and Oshiomhole in a dangerous dilemma, that must be intelligently manage to save them from devastating political fall.

But, reports coming out from APC Edo is that Ize-iyamu is not a registered member of the party in the state. The first person to raise this issue was Dr Odubu, one of Oshiomhole's men who was schemed out by Oshiomhole to favour Ize-iyamu as his choice for the APC primaries. Now Phillip Shuaibu, the deputy governor of Edo state, has raised the issue again, that Ize-Iyamu is not a registered member of the APC. But Ize-iyamu's response to this allegation is that he registered online. But even if there is online registration, such will be invalid, until one goes to his/her ward to physically register, to be qualified to benefit from whatever is available in the party. In response to Ize-iyamu's online registration claim, Shuaibu has requested that Ize-iyamu provides the web portal where he had registered, because according to Shuaibu, there is no such thing as online registration for APC Edo state. It is worthy of note that the inability of Ize-iyamu to register since November 2019, when he defected from the PDP, was the refusal of Obaseki being the governor and APC leader in Edo state, to receive Ize-iyamu into the APC. This was so because Ize-iyamu was specifically brought into the APC by Oshiomhole, to fight and replace Obaseki. Unfortunately, Oshiomhole with his chairmanship position, could not help Ize-iyamu get registered in his ward. So, as it is now Ize-iyamu is not officially a member of the APC, and he can not vote nor be voted for. Had Ize-iyamu knew these he would have stayed in PDP, and this dilemma would have been avoided.

For Oshiomhole, his battle against Obaseki with the view to deny him second term ticket, hit the rock when Obaseki suspended him, by thoroughly going through the party's rules guiding the suspension of its members in the process leading to the suspension. So Oshiomhole was suspended at the ward level, local government level, and the state level. Therefore Oshiomhole, though he is still the chairman of the APC, by the intervention of the Abuja Appeal court, he however cannot in actual sense participate in party's activities in Edo state. And any thing he does now on behalf of the party, is in the face of the law, illegal. Oshiomhole cannot even vote in any APC's primaries election in Edo state as long as his suspension has not been lifted nor vacated by the court of law.

Oshiomhole biggest error that brought him into this, was his inability to have used the court or the party's NEC to vacate his suspension. And currently, some members of APC have instituted a case against Oshiomhole, at the FCT high court, questioning his qualification to continue as chairman, when he is under suspension from the party at the state level. Thus Oshiomhole and Ize-iyamu are in a political dilemma that could possibly truncate their political relevance, if not well managed. But a genuine reconciliation with Obaseki and their withdrawal from fighting him, could have saved them from this woes.

 isiakasteven@yahoo.comom