With the September 21 Governorship Election in Edo State just days away, stakeholders including the electoral umpire, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, and political observers, among others, gathered in Benin City, the state capital, on Sunday, to further discussions on free and fair election.
The town hall, organised by Channels Television in partnership with the Kimpact Development Initiative and the UK International Development, provides the stage for no-holds-barred conversations on the election, especially in light of the Peace Accord fallout in the state last week.
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The political temperature in the state has been turbocharged in the last one year. Of note, 95 cases of violence including 35 incidents of electoral violence have been recorded since January this year in the state.
Seventeen political parties are fielding candidates in the poll. Analysts have described the forthcoming poll as a three-horse race involving Asue Ighodalo of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP).
Akpata is a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); while Ighodalo, former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG); secured the endorsement of the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki, who shunned his deputy and party man, Philip Shaibu. Shaibu and former governor Adams Oshiomhole have pledged their support for Okpebholo.
Over 2.6 million registered voters from 18 local government areas are to decide the next governor of the South-South state.
Edo is one of the eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements. Others are Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo.
