Governor Godwin Obaseki and National Party Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole
A Federal High Court in Benin, the Edo state capital on Monday granted an order restraining the All Progressives Congress ,APC, and its national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from conducting any primary election in Edo State ahead of the state governorship election in September, pending the determination of the suit on June 11, 2020.
This new development is coming after Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki stated that only indirect primary could hold in the state in accordance with the rule gazetted in newspapers on Friday. Oshiomole and his faction, on the other hand had stated that the party would conduct direct primary.
According to the court, “That in respect of political gatherings for the purpose of conducting primaries for any of the parties desiring to field candidates in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, gatherings of more than 20 persons may be allowed, subject to the written approval of the Governor, if such gatherings do not exceed 5,000 persons; hold in Benin City and in a single facility with a large seating capacity of not less than 10,000 persons; are provided with adequate health, safety, and sanitary facilities and are COVID-19 response compliant with social distancing policy, hand-washing and proper use of face masks fully observed.”
Oshiomhole and Obaseki have been at a year-long battle for political supremacy in the state with party elders and businessman Aliko Dangote loggerheads intervening to restore peace to no avail.
The party’s National Working Committee, NCW, during the week cleared the governor, former Secretary to the state government and later opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in the 2015 Pastor Ize-Iyamu and four others for screening on June 9. Ize-Iyame recently defected to the party during the heat of the crisis between Obaseki and Oshiomhole.
