Edo PDP: Chief Hillary Otsu...the proverbial tortoise

By Barrister Ken Ebikaide

With the Edo State Local Government Elections just a few months away, the latest attempt by Chief Hillary Otsu to delegitimize the candidacy of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the run up to the election reveals a pattern that have over time threatened the soul of the party.

It really speaks to the loyalty, magnanimity and patriotic zeal of members of the PDP in Edo State that they have exercised restraint in accommodating the excesses of some of these executive members, who seek nothing but the destruction of the party in the State, when the generality of the party members desire progress and to engender sustainable development in the State through the instrumentality and vehicle of the PDP.

Hillary Otsu have continued to deploy underhand tactics and sleight of hand in service of parochial and selfish interests, he is hellbent on dragging the party on a path of perdition. From his action, it is clear that he has long exited the party in spirit and in deed, but have remained to wreak havoc and deprive loyal party members the opportunity to participate in the electoral process and the accrued benefits that stem from their membership of the PDP.

While stakeholders in the political space heaved a sigh of relief and are gearing up for the local council election, the relative calm in PDP camp was replaced with an uneasy calm when copies of a Court proceeding requesting for an order to delegitimize PDP candidates in the forthcoming council election, was made public, alerting the members of the party to the tactics of the Secretary of the PDP in Edo State, Hillary Otsu, to subvert the chances of the party and its membership in the election.

In the court proceeding, Secretary of the PDP in Edo State, Hillary Otsu and 17 others in Suit B/506/2023, urged the High Court of Edo State, for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the third defendant (Edo State Independent Electoral Commission) from “acting on or recognising any purported list of candidates emerging from the 2nd defendant’s list of candidates for Local Government Election, 2023 in Edo State.”

It is pertinent to state that this is not the first instance when Otsu has orchestrated a calculated attempt to jeopardize the chances of the party and its members during an election, which calls to question his real interest in the party.

The same antics were deployed in the primary election leading up to the 2023 general election, during which Hillary Otsu and his co-travellers dragged the party to court.

Members of the PDP maintained neutrality and decided that whoever emerged from the conflict would get the members’ maximum support. They expected that the courts would settle the impasse and that the rule of law would prevail, ensuring that justice was done. The episode was allowed to pass.

A few months ago when EDSIEC first published the timetable for the conduct of the Local government council elections, they went to court to stop it.

Also, when Governor Godwin Obaseki offered Senior Special Assistant (SSA) and Special Assistant (SA) to members of the PDP, these persons led by Chief Hillary Otsu attempted to stop PDP members from taking the appointments and when they did, they were threatened and called names. The few that fell for their antics were effectively disenfranchised and prevented from reaping the benefits of being members of the party.

The endgame of Otsu is that he is not even trying to substitute PDP candidates this time, but attempting to ensure that the PDP does not have candidates in the forthcoming election.

It is a clear indication that he is no longer a member of PDP in Edo State, he is not interested in the growth or progress of the party but is rather working from within to drag the party to its knees.

The implication of the move must not be lost on the stakeholders in the state.

The local council election is germane to running a broad-based grassroot political machinery that has not less than 480 citizens and party members engaged directly with government and thousands of their supporters across the 18 local governments in the state.

To break this down to specifics, there would be 18 local government chairmen; 18 vice chairmen; 192 councillors across the wards in the State; five supervisory councillors across the 18 local government areas and at least 10 Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants (SAs) across the 18 local councils in the state. These are the persons whose political fortunes will be truncated by the self-serving activities of Hillary Otsu, who is now in court to ensure that the PDP does not field candidates in the coming local council elections in the state.

It is obvious that this is an extention of the deal brokered during the presidential elections to sabotage PDP for the benefit of APC.

In all of these, it is impressive that the members of the PDP in Edo State have conducted themselves in a very disciplined manner and with equanimity. They deserve the praise and are encouraged to toe the path of peace in the run-up to the council elections which is scheduled for September. It is a sign that the political scene in Edo is attaining maturity and these PDP members will continue to work collectively for the progress of the people and the State in the wake of unwarranted distractions.

*_Ken Ebikaide is a member of PDP and speaking on behalf of the overwhelming silent majority._*