Hon. Washington Osifo, a former Commissioner of Education and a governorship aspirant in the 2024 primary election on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), has commended the conduct of the recently held primary election by the Governor Hope Uzodima-led committee. The primary election produced Hon. Dennis Idahosa as the winner and flag bearer of the party for the governorship election scheduled to hold in September this year.
In his statement, Hon. Osifo expressed satisfaction with the committee’s organization and the transparency of the process that led to the emergence of Hon. Dennis Idahosa as the winner. He emphasized that the debate on who has the right to announce the result of the election should not arise, as a similar committee was set up for the same process in 2019, and the chairman announced the result without any contrary opinion.
Hon. Osifo pointed out that the national headquarters of the APC would only accept results announced by the committee. He urged all party members and aspirants to put aside their differences and work together to ensure a resounding victory for the APC in the forthcoming Edo state governorship election.
Hon. Osifo’s remark is coming at a time when there is tension within the APC over the conduct of the primary election, with some aspirants alleging foul play. However, his call for unity and support for the party’s chosen candidate, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, is a significant step towards ensuring a smooth and successful campaign for the APC in the upcoming election.
He said: “The argument about who has the responsibility to announce result is clearly myopic and casuistic. Only four years ago, the same role in 2019, and no one raised any question. Similar committee have been constituted to conduct primaries across the country where the Chairmen announced results. The exercise of Saturday 17th February, 2023 was not so flawed as painted and no major party has the capacity to conduct a free and fair primary election without leadership interference”
He called on party members to maintain peace and work with the leadership to support the flagbearer so that the APC will emerge victorious at the gubernatorial poll. He, however, lamented that majority of the party members are not acquainted with the internal workings of the party. This he said has allowed influential members to have their ways.
“Most importantly, we must admit, albeit sadly so, that the vast majority of party members are not sufficiently informed and enlightened about the party mission and operations. Most members do not have a grasp of the import and the criticality of the exercise. this yawning gap has always been filled by the leadership of the parties who give guidance and direction on critical decisions in the party to the hoipolloi. the alternative will be to simply allow moneybags and opportunists to run away with victory at every turn, that would create a scarier situation.”
