Leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State have finally resolved to pick its gubernatorial running mate from Edo Central (Esanland) as part of the efforts to bring the senatorial district into the political structure of the state.
The party which was earlier speculated to be considering a running mate from Edo North where the present governor hails from, will be following the precedent set by the opposition PDP which picked its running mate from Edo Central on Monday.
As part of efforts in this direction, party leaders from the district who said that there was no controversy about the zone producing the running mate, were believed to have also settled for a candidate from Agbazilo axis of the senatorial district comprising Esan South East and Esan North East Local government areas.
Speaking with reporters in Benin City on Tuesday on the development, Chief Francis Inegbeneki, a party chieftain from the area, said, “Before the party primary, I led leaders from Esanland to meet with the governor and it was agreed that after the primary the party will meet to decide the issue of a deputy governor.
“We also discussed the fact that Edo Central or Esan must be given priority in the choice of who gets the deputy governorship; there is no controversy about where the gubernatorial running mate is coming from.
“Any right-thinking politician will know that it is not politically wise to give the deputy governor’s slot to a zone which has the outgoing governor. Edo North has the governor with the deputy from Edo South right now, so if Edo South has the governor in the coming dispensation, Edo Central should have the deputy.”
The politician argued that it was in the interest of fairness and equity that the Esan people who had been left out of the power structure in the state and had been pacified with the State Assembly Speaker and now that the speakership has again been taken away coincidentally, it is fair and just that the Esan gets the slot of APC deputy governor in 2016.
