Edo poll litmus test for 2023 – Arch Onolememen

Architect Mike Onolememen, a former minister of Defence and later Works, is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview, he says if the September 19 governorship election is free and fair, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State will defeat his main challenger, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Hoodlums attack Edo commissioner’s house Your […]

Architect Mike Onolememen, a former minister of Defence and later Works, is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In this interview, he says if the September 19 governorship election is free and fair, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State will defeat his main challenger, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

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What are you doing to ensure that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State retains his seat, come September 19?

We are certain that Governor Obaseki will win this governorship election with not less than 80 percent votes. We the political gladiators in the state, have come back together. The progressives have come together.

So all we are saying is that INEC should conduct a free and fair election and let the votes of the electorate count. If they do that, it’s going to be the best ever voters’ education ‎that INEC can give to Nigeria. Once the citizens know their votes will count, more and more will start participating in democratic process which will be beneficial to our country.

You said other progressives are coming together now?

Yes, the progressives are coming together

Is it a referendum on Oshiomhole?

Well as its stands, it is something like that because if anything, the administration of Godwin Obaseki in the last four years has given the different parts of Edo State, the various ethnic groups a sense of belonging in the state in a way that has not been experienced in the last 12 years.

Nobody is hijacking the state as for the first time in a long while, the interests of the people are being pursued by Governor Obaseki. Because of that, Governor Obaseki will be re-elected the governor of Edo State to the glory of God.

Are you not afraid of federal might?

Like I said, we expect INEC to conduct a free and fair election where the votes of the electorate will count. As a nation we should be ashamed that after many years, we cannot even guarantee a free and fair election.

‎Security has no business in electioneering. I was a minister of state for Defence under President Obasanjo and I had responsibility for all the military institutions apart from the Nigerian Airforce that I was supervising. I can tell you it’s against the tradition of the military to be brought into electioneering.

We need to change the narrative because it’s so easy to conduct a free and fair election. And the election in Edo State is a standalone election so the security apparatus should be able to guarantee, one man, one vote and ensure that hoodlums and thugs are not brought into the centres during the coming election.

Ahead of the poll, the atmosphere in Edo State has been charged with accusations and counter-accusations by both APC and PDP over alleged recruitment of thugs. Why are the parties recruiting hoodlums?

I’m a very senior member of the PDP; I’m a member of the National ‎Campaign Council for Edo State and I’m also a state member of the campaign council for PDP for the upcoming elections so I can tell you authoritatively that recruiting thugs is not one of the things that the PDP is doing. We need not to recruit any thug as a matter of fact because the people are with PDP.

Believe it or not the political ‎DNA of Edo people is PDP. I’m telling you the truth, those who will want to recruit thugs are those who know that the people are no longer with them.

 In 2016, PDP campaigned for Ize-Iyamu and de-campaigned Obaseki. Now the reverse is the case. Thus pundits are saying, are you politicians taking the electorate in Edo for a ride?

Well, we are not taking the electorate for a ride. In fact in 2016, like you said Obaseki ran on the ticket of APC and of course sponsored by Oshiomhole at that time as the outgoing governor. And as Ize-Iyamu flew the ‎flag of the PDP, we did not have to paint Ize-Iyamu in borrowed colours; we tried to protect him to the best of our knowledge.

So, we knew him up to the point we knew him at the time. And of course some of us canvassed for him and worked very hard to ensure that he won the election of course everybody saw on the national TV what happened during that election.

I don’t want to duel on the collation of results or the falsification of figures – that is history now. History will be kind to some of those that participated in that particular exercise. But today what is important is that Governor Obaseki is flying the ticket of the PDP while Ize-Iyamu is flying the ticket of the APC.

All that we are doing is to market Governor Obaseki on the basis of what he has done. What has been his records for the past four years? He has done wonderfully well as far as we are concerned. You need to be in Edo now and compare it with what it was about eight years ago.

There was no governance, what we had was a deceitful government and Obaseki represents a change from that deceitful regime.