An Edo State-based socio-political group, under the aegis of Young Edo Professionals in Politics (YEPP), has demanded equity, justice and fairness in line with the principle of zoning and rotation of power in the state.
The group, under the leadership of Victory Osadolor, and its spokesman, Endurance Eguasa, made the call after its meeting in Benin City on Wednesday.
The group particularly stressed the need for the Edo South senatorial seat to be zoned to one of the seven local government areas in the district outside the Oredo Council area.
The spokesman of the group, Eguasa noted that the peculiarity of the Oredo Local Government Area in the zoning arrangement is that the council would have occupied the senate and governorship seats for eight years, each, by 2023 and 2024 respectively.
He said zoning the senate again to the same council area for the 2023 general elections would amount to injustice on the parts of the other six local government areas that made up the senatorial district.
“It is instructive to note that both the current Senator of Edo South, Mathew Urhoghide and Governor Godwin Obaseki, are from Oredo Local Government Area.
“More disturbing is the fact that Urhoghide is from Ward 2 in Oredo, the same Ward that produced the current member of the House of Representatives for Oredo Federal Constituency. We are saying that Oredo cannot keep the senate beyond 2023.
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“The reason is that Edo South Senatorial District historically sits on a tripod which is made up of the old Oredo Division (now Egor, Ikpoba Okha and Oredo LGAs), the old Orhionmwon which is now the Orhionmwon and Uhunmwode LGAs, and the old Ovia which is now the Ovia North-East and Ovia South-West, LGAs.
“Therefore, the Senate seat must rotate amongst the triumvirate,” he explained.
He recalled that between 1999 and 2007, the senator for Edo South was produced by the old Orhionwmon after which it moved to old Ovia from 2007 to 2015 and old Oredo from 2015 till date.
“Justice, fairness and equity dictate that it moves back to old Orhionmwon, especially because from 2016 till date, Oredo has simultaneously held both positions of governor and senator for Edo South.
“Most instructively, by 2023/2024 the old Oredo would have produced the governor for 16 years, the senator for Edo South for 8 years and enjoyed a non-rotational, permanent House of Representatives seat for 24 years,” he added.
The leader of the group, Osadolor, demanded in strong terms the leadership of the political parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that presently occupies the seat, to zone the senatorial ticket for Edo South in the 2023 election to old Orhionmwon.
According to him, “This position is supported by section 7 subsection 3 (C) of the PDP constitution which enshrines the principle of zoning both party and elective offices.
“Other political parties are enjoined to emulate the PDP in enshrining zoning and rotation of all elective offices.”
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