Edo Guber Election: APC to pick running mate from Edo Central

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State is set to pick its gubernatorial running mate from Edo Central (Esanland) as part of efforts to bring the senatorial district into the mainstream of political structure in the state

If the party which is speculated to be considering a running mate from Edo North where the present governor hails from, it will be following the precedent set by the opposition PDP which picked its running mate from Edo Central on Monday.

In this direction, however, party leaders from the district who say there is no controversy about the zone producing the running mate, are believed to have also settled for a candidate from Agbazilo axis of the senatorial district.

Chief Francis Inegbeneki, a party chieftain while speaking to reporters in Benin City on the development said that, “before the party primaries, I led leaders from Esanland to meet with the governor…and it was agreed that after the primaries the party will meet to decide the issue of a deputy governor.

“We also discussed that the Edo Central or Esan must be given priority.

“In the choice of who gets the deputy governorship, there is no controversy about where the gubernatorial running mate is coming from.

“Any right-thinking politician will know that it is not politically wise to give the deputy governor’s slot to a zone which has the outgoing governor. Edo north has the governor with the deputy from Edo south right now, so If Edo South has the governor in the coming dispensation, Edo Central should have the deputy.”

The politician argued that it is in the interest of fairness and equity that the Esan people who have been left out of the power structure in the state and have been pacified with the legislative of State Assembly Speaker, gets the slot for APC deputy governor in 2016.