A report by Business Day indicates that a cross-section of senior Benin chiefs on Sunday, July 26 rejected efforts by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to get their support for Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
The immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was seen in pictures kneeling before the chiefs and seeking their support for the party’s governorship candidate in the forthcoming poll.
According to the report, the chiefs refused to give their support to Ize-Iyamu, but instead advised him to try out his luck at the poll.
Benin traditional chiefs are historically known for their non-partisan approach to a political contest.
According to the chiefs, their traditional duties to Edo people, irrespective of the political parties they belong, restrain some of them from campaigning for any candidate.
“The civil servants, teachers and other government workers know the candidate that will prioritise their wellbeing and sustain the ongoing reforms in all sectors of the state,” Business Day quoted one of the chiefs as saying.
Another said: “We are not children, we can’t be manipulated by politicians. Oshiomhole had his time as governor for eight years, and all Benin people supported him. He should allow Edo people to choose their leader this time, without being hoodwinked.”
Recall that Oshiomhole recently assured supporters of the APC in Edo state that the party will record a landslide victory in the forthcoming election.
He made the comment when he arrived in Benin city, the state capital, to a heroic welcome on Thursday, July 23.
Addressing the crowd that gathered to welcome him, Oshiomhole said he was overwhelmed by the natural display of love and assured the people that the APC will secure victory at the polls with a wide margin.
Meanwhile, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo, Chief Dan Orbih has said that the state “is not the property of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.”
Orbih, a former chairman of the PDP in Edo made the comment in Benin, the state capital on Tuesday, July 21.
The PDP chieftain who is also the zonal chairman of PDP south-south, was speaking at the inauguration of the party’s campaign council in the state.
