The hierarchy of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has been tested.
Their desperate search for a solution to their self-inflicted apocalypse brought about by the concatenation of unwholesome activities of their platoon commander, Governor Godwin Obaseki, is tearing them apart.
The judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo has elicited a lot of discussions, analyses, commentaries and propositions and still remains the top discourse in Benin even after one whole week of its breaking, and several other happenings following closely.
The antipathy for this travesty of a leader is palpable across the state. One thing is certain, the PDP candidate is now reduced to collateral damage by that verdict.
If the picture circulating in the social media parading Asue, Ogie and Inegbeneki in a somewhat awkward manner is anything to go by, then the PDP knows for sure that its participation in the election only has a ghost of a chance of garnering anything.
I read somewhere that one of their legal consultants bet N5m that the verdict did not concern them.
Obviously, their house is full of wheeler dealers, gamblers, kalokalo leaders, stakers, tricksters and other sorts of chance takers.
These people, Obaseki and his party members, haven’t rested since Thursday, 4 July when the judgement was handed down.
And finally on Monday, 8 July they filed their notice of appeal. May they be beleaguered and vanquished by a cornucopia of kitchen sink issues until the election is over.
They don’t deserve anything better. They rushed to grab a copy of the CTC of the judgement and then twisted its semantics to please their bulbous egos, and keep their motley following.
They are so artful that they actually put energy into distorting the truth on an issue as plain as a sheet of paper. What an insult to Edo people.
Politics should clearly be for statesmen not cowboys who just have cold eyes for profits.
When you see supposed leaders equivocate and obfuscate, scooping fake news and promoting mis-information, then you know you are being taken for a ride.
Conceptualise this scenario: Francis Inegbeneki just joined PDP and has suddenly become the head of the corner. What gives the PDP power oligarchs the rationale and notion that the totality of their plans isn’t in our hands.
That’s a story for another day. The truth about the Justice Ekwo’s ruling was aptly captured by the Governor of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, when he told visibly bemused party chieftains at their meeting that the judgement is a “temporary setback” to the PDP, and that they will try and use the legal process to vacate the judgment.
This is a more reasonable person; not a bunch of rogues who rely on some primordial architecture to design and build a statuesque of lies just to look verdant.
I must add in this piece, that the real landmine in this case is that it is PDP versus PDP, internal machinations versus internal sciamachy.
Nothing can be more damaging than to have internal gladiators in any political engagement.
But for Fintiri’s suggestion, I had thought very lucidly that the PDP won’t appeal the judgement, for their spin doctors and professional coupon clippers, inter alia, had gone to town to proclaim that the verdict did not affect their candidate.
My thought was simply that, why appeal a case that you reasoned is in your favour?.
The statement credited to the Adamawa Governor Umaru Fintiri seems to be the only sensible statement thus far, since the verdict of the Federal High Court.
He concurred to the fact that there is a “temporary setback” which necessitated their plan to appeal. That is the truth, and I pray they don’t get out of that “temporary setback” to teach them a lesson, and also beacon to others who think they have the yam and the knife to cut their political cake, to tread carefully.
Those who behave like demigods should suffer the consequences of their actions.
Imposition of candidates in any electoral process should have its own consequences.
Exclusive electoral process should also, have its own consequences. Politics and democracy is all about inclusive participation and involvement.
Once you try to work from answer to question, you deserve what the Pecuniary Delight Party (PDP) is suffering today.
Errant ones who even had the nerves and gall to organise a protest rally against a judgement they told the world did not affect their one-legged candidate. Why the protest? To arm-twist the law or what?
Someone should tell Obaseki and Asue Ighodalo that barefaced attempt to arm-twist the law cannot save a sinking ship from its fated catastrophe.
Law panders to evidence and proof beyond reasonable doubt, not rallies or protests.
While we await the outcome of the appeal, we pray that they remain mired down, and suffer from their artful machinations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kassim Afegbua, former commissioner for information Edo State Government, is media consultant, Edo APC Campaign Organisation
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