Barely two months after the gubernatorial election in Edo State, fresh tension has engulfed the state over the anticipated senatorial election in Edo Central Senatorial District to pick the successor to the state’s Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, in the Senate.
Already, there is an interplay of political intrigues as a group of federal lawmakers led by the member representing Ideato Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenna Ugochinyere are rooting for one of their own, Odianosen Henry Okojie.
Okojie, who was co-chairman of the dissolved House adhoc committee to probe the petroleum industry as well as the face off between Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited(NNPCL).
Okojie as chairman of the Petroleum Resources(Midstream) committee of the House, was mandated by the House to, alongside Ugochinyere, probe the factors that led to the faceoff between Dangote and NNPCL.
But along the line, the joint committee became a major source of concern as allegations of bribery and favoritism trailed it even as both Okojie and Ugochinyere allegedly collected millions of dollars from Dangote to give the NNPCL a public and media image.
Worried by this scandal, the House dissolved the joint committee and handed over the responsibility to a Joint National Assembly Committee comprising both the senate and the House.
It was gathered that members of the dissolved House committee came together immediately after the swearing of Okpebholo and vowed to mobilize funds for one of them(Okojie) to clinch the APC ticket once INEC sets the ball rolling.
One of the members of the now dissolved committee told our correspondent that Okojie’s ambition to replace Okpebholo is beyond partisan politics.
“We are young and most of us are first timers but when we assumed office, some of us gained prominence through these committees and when the speaker set up the joint committee, some elders were not happy. They blackmailed us enaired the committee was dissolved.
“But because Henry is of the APC, even though he was not happy, he could not say much in the open. But you can now see how God works; there is a space for us to push one of us to the senate to continue our struggle there. This has nothing to do with politics. We are solidly behind Hon Okojie and we will mobilize funds to ensure he gets to the senate.
Okpebholo represented Edo Central Senatorial District on the banner of the governing party, All Progressives Congress (APC) before his election as governor.
In the governing party, no fewer than 12 aspirants are jostling for consideration for the ticket of APC.
Okojie who currently represents Esan North East and Esan South East Constituency in the House of Representatives is reported to be mobilising his contacts in Abuja, particularly in the Presidency, to circumvent the processes by imposing him as the candidate of the party.
Okojie was also reported to be boastful of his contacts in Abuja to fetch him the ticket, by sidetraccking intra-party election which is expected to throw up a popular and credible candidate to fly the banner of the party.
But also worried by the tension being generated by the plot to impose Okojie on members of APC in Edo Central, a pressure group, Esan Renaissance Movement (ERM), has petitioned Ganduje and Okpebholo, on the festering issue.
The group in the statement signed by its President, Agbonkhese Osezua and Secretary, Napoleon Ironosen, said they have profiled all APC members jostling to replace the governor in the Senate, adding that Okojie was the least qualified among them.
The petitioners said he was unfit and unsuitable to pick a seat in the Senate on behalf of Edo senatorial district, insisting that he has failed to justify the mandate given to him to represent Esan North East and Esan South East in the House of Representatives.
According to the group, Okojie was docile and timid in the House, with no record of an impact ful representation of his constituents in the 10th Assembly.
The group pointedly accused Okojie of deploying weapons of blackmail and intimidation in pursuit of personal and selfish agenda for financial gains in his 18 months sojourn in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
Consequently, the group urged the national leadership of the ruling party to be wary of given tacit support to Okojie, adding that he was not viable candidate to win a senatorial contest.
It also warned Governor Okpebholo to distance himself from Okojie in order to sustain his credibility and warm himself into the psyche of the people of Esanland.
The group said further in the statement, “Odianosen Henry Okojie lacks the credibility to fly the ticket of APC for a senatorial election. What has he achieved with the current made given to him to represent Esan North East and Esan South East Constituency in the House of Representatives? Absolutely nothing.”
“How many bills has he sponsored and how many motions has he moved in the past 18 months? Odianosen Henry Okojie is a sleeping representative of Esan North East and Esan South East Constituency of Edo State in the House of Representatives. He should not be given a free ticket to take a seat in the Senate to sleep and whenever he is awake, he would be busy pursuing a selfish agenda to enrich himself.”
“The roles played by Odianosen Henry Okojie and his co-traveller, Ikenga Ugochinyere in the Aliko Dangote/NNPCL debacle is still very fresh in our memories. In tandem with their antics of blackmail and intimidation, they took money to take side with Dangote in the Ad-hoc Committeeassignment, a sad development which led to the dissolution of the Ad-hoc committee headed by Ugochinyere, with Henry Okojie, as a member.”
“That is the job Odianosen Henry Okojie is doing in Abuja, he is not representing Esan North East and Esan South East Constituency but representing only himself. He is not a fit, competent and suitable person to represent us in the Senate. We have a pool of qualified and credible individuals, who can take our seat in the Senate. Odianosen Henry Okojie should stay in the House and complete his present assignment of using the instrumentality of his chairmanship of the House Commitee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) to continue to blackmail the management of NNPCL for illicit wealth.”
“We seize this medium to plead with the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila and Minister of Interior, Mr. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, to allow the members of APC in Edo Central to freely elect their candidate for the upcoming senatorial election. It’s not right for forces outside Edo State to always fix and give directions to our political journeys. They should please allow us to fix this. We can produce a credible candidate in a primary election. The candidature of Odianosen Henry Okojie cannot deliver Edo Central Senatorial District to the APC.”
In conclusion, we also urge the indefatigable National Chairman of APC not to succumb to pressures by Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila and Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo to impose Odianosen Henry Okojie on members of APC in Edo Central Senatorial District. And the people’s Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, whose take off has received widespread accolades should sustain his legitimacy and tempo of his acceptability by our people by distancing himself from Odianosen Henry Okojie,” the statement added