Edo 2020: APC will balance Obaseki’s incumbency with Federal might- Tony Momoh
Momoh also said it will be wrong for anyone to assume that either of the political parties will win the election by a landslide because both candidates are tested politicians who have some advantages on their sides.
A former Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will use federal might and every other things it takes to win the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state.
According to the Daily Independent, Momoh, one of the national leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also said all security agencies will be deployed to the state for the election, even though they will not be used to rig the election.
“Federal might is everywhere in Nigeria. We have Progressives Governors Forum; we have federal might and it is very obvious. So, nobody can say because he has incumbency, he can rig the election”.
“All the security agencies will be there in Edo, even though they will not be there to rig elections for anybody. The incumbency by the governor will be counter-balanced by federal might. So, we will use everything we have to retain Edo state”.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed September 19 for the governorship election which many analysts believe will be a straight contest between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even though 15 political parties are participating in the election.
As it were in the last governorship election held in the state in 2016, the two major contenders in the election are Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is the governorship candidate of the PDP and Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu who is contesting under the platform of APC.
Momoh also said it will be wrong for anyone to assume that either of the political parties will win the election by a landslide because both candidates are tested politicians who have some advantages on their sides.
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He said while Governor Obaseki enjoys incumbency factor and resources to mobilise the PDP, Ize-Iyamu as the candidate of the APC enjoys the privilege of being the candidate of the ruling party in the country.
“When Ize- Iyamu joined APC, I said APC will overrun Edo because since he left PDP, they have been seriously decimated that they can’t win any election.
But now, the governor of Edo state who was formerly in APC has moved to PDP and now he is their governorship candidate. PDP now has incumbency on their side”.
“I also said during my last interview that the governor will not move to PDP alone. He left APC to PDP with all the money that is coming to Edo state now such as federal allocation, internally generated revenue and so on. He will spend the money on PDP not PDP. He may spend it on the structures he has built such as education, infrastructures and so on but if he wants to spend it on any political party, it will be PDP not APC”.
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“I also said he will leave APC with all the structures such as local government chairmen, ward chairmen and others. Also, during election, he may have the sympathy of teachers, civil servants and pensioners that he has been paying their salaries and emoluments”.
“All these are advantages for Obaseki because he may get sympathy votes from these people. So, based on this, I cannot say APC will overrun Edo again or that we will win by a landslide. Nobody will sweep that election”.
“The fact is, Ize-Iyamu has been endorsed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC, so he is the candidate of APC in Edo state. In 2016, APC defeated PDP with about 50,000 votes and Ize- Iyamu is a grassroots politician in Edo state”.
“So, he has the support of the APC in Edo state, he also has the support of grassroots PDP members who decamp with him to APC”. Inspite of the departure of the governor and incumbency, we have a grassroots man in APC. APC is in control of the seats in the House of Assembly.
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