Edo Election: Obaseki joins PDP to restart 2nd term bid

Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has officially joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday, June 19, 2020.

The governor picked up his PDP membership card at the party's secretariat in Benin-City, cheered on by his supporters.

"I, as always, remain committed to engendering good governance and sustainable development of our dear state," he posted on his Twitter account.

The governor dumped the All Progressives' Congress (APC) on Tuesday, June 16, days after the party disqualified him from contesting for its ticket to participate in the September 19 Edo governorship election.

His exit from the APC, on whose platform he was first elected in 2016, was a result of his battle with the party's national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, who's also his predecessor.

The two have gone from allies from years ago to bitter rivals who have engaged in a war of words in public, and battle for political supremacy behind closed doors.

Oshiomhole's influence is what many believe led to the decision of the APC's screening committee to disqualify Obaseki from contesting in the party's June 22 primary election.

The committee said the governor's higher school certificate and NYSC certificate were defective, and also accused him of anti-party actions.

Obaseki pointed at Oshiomhole as the architect of allegations he said were made up.

Obaseki (left) and Oshiomhole (right) have been at each other's throats over the past few months [Facebook/Governor Godwin Obaseki] Pulse Nigeria

Oshiomhole publicly accused his successor of violating the party's constitution by dragging it to court over internal party issues.

He also accused Obaseki of abuse of power and interfering in the smooth running of the Edo State House of Assembly.

Obaseki's fight for 2nd term

Many other politicians loyal to Obaseki have followed in the governor's footsteps to dump the APC since his Tuesday announcement, one he made after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

His defection to the PDP has been expected over the past week as he's met with some high-ranking personalities of the party.

Despite this, the party's already cleared aspirants have said they won't step down for him, and will contest in the PDP's primary election which was rescheduled for Tuesday, June 23, presumably to give Obaseki time to settle in.

If the governor wins his new party's ticket, he's expected to battle Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who's the favourite to win APC's ticket, in the September election.

Both men were on opposite sides during the 2016 election.