Chieftain of Edo chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and House of Representatives aspirant, Osaretin Edosomwan, speaks with Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, on the March 28 and April 11 general elections, and how the party intends to stage a return in the state in 2016.
The outcome of the last general elections came as a shock to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Edo State and at the federal level. Against that backdrop, what do you consider the future of the party in Edo, especially in relation to the 2016 governorship election in the state?
You know that Edo State presently is controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC). But if you look at our performance in the last Presidential and National Assembly elections, you would notice that the PDP won in a state where we have APC governor. Of course, you know that Governor Adams Oshiomhole, in all fairness, is not a push-over in anything. So for us to have worked and won with over 60 per cent speaks volume; it shows that the PDP is in tune with the people.
It also shows that the people want a change in the state, just like what happened at the national level where Muhammadu Buhari is now the president.
If you also look at other states in Nigeria where APC won that brought in the president, it showed that the people actually voted not only along party line but also by ethnic and religious considerations. It wasn’t as if people actually voted purely on party affiliation. I believe that if PDP had featured a Northern candidate, it would have won. In any case, that is history now. What is important for us now is how we can move our dear state forward. It is our immediate constituency.
How does the party intend to put its house together and forge ahead in spite of the loss in the last election?
Many things happened which were good for the party. I can assure you that we are doing everything possible to reorganise the party in the state, just as APC did by putting its house in order. So far, so good! It is yielding some positive results. You don’t expect everybody to do well, especially when you are leading a group of persons. We have some dissidents around us and we have identified them.
You worked closely with Governor Oshiomhole as one of his Senior Special Advisers at a time the PDP often criticised him. Given the turn of events that now sees you in PDP, would you say some of those criticisms were right?
I don’t indulge in the politics of calumny. Rather, I discuss issues. As far as I am concerned, Oshiomhole has come and he is doing his own bit. Some are happy while others are not. I wouldn’t say he has done well or not. It is better we leave it to posterity to judge. I worked with him and he didn’t wrong me in any way. I just decided on my own to move on.
You just said the party is doing all it can to resolve the crisis within its fold. But we just saw a situation when the House of Assembly was being inaugurated where three letters, purportedly from PDP, were signed by the party’s chairman and two other persons nominating different persons for the Minority Leader position of the party. Is that not a sign of crack or the party singing different tunes on one issue?
I just told you that when you are leading a group of persons, there must be some saboteurs. Even the APC that is ruling at the centre equally has its own problem. You saw what happened at the National Assembly. These things happen everywhere. As for what you saw at the Edo House of Assembly where more than three letters were sent to the House, in my mind, there were more to it than met the eyes. Any letter outside the one from the chairman of the party, ordinarily, should be discountenanced with. I think only the letter from the chairman should be entertained. That is not to say that the party is in disarray. We have not done any congress where you would say we have a new party chairman. Dan Orbih still remains Edo PDP chairman. Again, are you sure that this is not also the handiwork of the opposition party to give the impression that there is division in the PDP?
There will be governorship election in the state next year. Incidentally, the PDP had always had this post-primary crisis which often saw some governorship aspirants staging a walk-out on the party. What is the party doing to ensure that whoever loses this time around does not leave but stays back to work for the party?
If you follow my antecedents, you would see that I contested the last House of Representatives primary election despite the shortcomings, but still stayed back and worked for the party. In fact, I was one of those who worked for our candidate, Ogbeide Ihama. So, it is an individual thing. Politics, to me, is not a do-or-die affair. Those who left can best be described as bread and butter politicians. They are not showing good example to the people. I think the interest of the party is supreme. This is a new party. I can assure you that what you saw will not happen again by the time we conduct our primary. I am optimistic that PDP will take over the state in 2016.