The approach to the APC governorship primaries has become a harvest of sorts for accredited delegates of the party.
A majority of the delegates we learned are simply smiling to the bank on a weekly basis as they milk the major aspirants. Not all the aspirants are complaining, though. One of the leading aspirants who had been an official of the branches of the Federal Government reportedly conceived the weekly handout of N5,000 per delegate to woo delegates to himself a few weeks ago.
His effort has since been adopted by another delegate who is said to have the support of a big man in the outgoing state administration. That aspirant was said to have simply upped the game by increasing the weekly handout to N10,000 per delegate. INEC PVCs INEC PVCs “It is what we have to do to keep our delegates,” a source close to the N10,000 paying aspirant said.
However, before the delegates are paid, they are made to show their PVC cards which in the eyes of some have now become cash producing ATM cards.
At a meeting with APC delegates from Edo North last Sunday, a very senior political office holder from Edo North who has been alleged to be sponsoring the Godwin Obaseki campaign was said to have urged the delegates not to shy away from collecting the N5,000 being doled out by the rival aspirant. He, however, told them to return to the Obaseki campaign which he said would give them more.
The prominent Edo politician, however, charged them not to mortgage the state to those who he said were not prepared for governance.
At the same function in the residence of Rep. Philip Shuaibu, Governor Adams Oshiomhole was quoted to have urged the delegates to appreciate the sacrifice made by the state commissioner for works, Mr. Osarodion Ogie, who is Obaseki’s campaign manager. Oshiomhole urged the delegates drawn from the three Etsako local government areas to laud Ogie, who he said sacrificed his governorship aspiration in consideration of Obaseki following pleas by him, Oshiomhole.
