Who represents Edo in the Senate?
The senatorial race in Edo South is drawing significant attention as parties prepare to select their candidates. The All Progressives Congress (APC) seems strong in Edo North and Edo Central.
The senatorial race in Edo South is drawing significant attention as parties prepare to select their candidates. The All Progressives Congress (APC) seems strong in Edo North and Edo Central. Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR looks at the chances aspirants.
Edo State is warming up for senatorial elections. It is still unclear which party will be the main opposition. So far, it appears the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will have no candidates.
This is mostly due to leadership disputes within the PDP and recent court decisions blocking their candidates in Edo. No one has announced plans to run for the PDP. The candidates so far are from the APC, Accord Party, and African Democratic Congress.
Right now, the APC holds all three Senate seats: Senator Adams Oshiomhole in Edo North, Joseph Ikpea in Edo Central, and Neda Imasuen in Edo South. The APC is expected to do well in Edo North and Central, but the race in Edo South is more open.
Since 2015, the ruling party has struggled to win the National Assembly elections in Edo. In 2015, the APC won one Senate seat but lost several House seats. In 2019, with Governor Obaseki, the APC again won one Senate seat and four House seats. By 2023, when Obaseki was with the PDP, the PDP had won only one House seat.
Next year’s general election might continue the recent pattern in Edo South, where voting is hard to predict in places like Ikpoba-Okha, Egor, Oredo, and parts of Ovia North East. Strong support from urban youth for the Obidient and Kwankwasiya movements has changed voting habits, making traditional parties less dominant and possibly affecting results in tight races.
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Edo North
The Edo APC is giving Senator Oshiomhole the first chance to run again, despite other hopefuls. After Oshiomhole took office, State Chairman Jarret Tenebe said there would be no primary in Edo North, praising Oshiomhole’s leadership and achievements.
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Former Deputy Governor Godwins Omobayo has announced he wants to run for the Edo North Senate seat with the ADC. In 2023, he ran for the Akoko-Edo House of Representatives seat with the PDP but lost to Peter Akpatason of the APC.
If Omobayo wins the ADC primary, it will still be hard to defeat Oshiomhole. When Oshiomhole was governor, he led many infrastructure projects in Edo North, especially in Estako, his home area. He even flattened hills to build roads.
Oshiomhole’s record and the large number of voters in Estako, his hometown, make him the favourite. Unless the APC decides to hold a primary after all, he is almost certain to get the party’s ticket again.
It is still unclear whether the ADC will choose Omobayo as its candidate.
Edo Central
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Senator Joseph Ikpea is likely to run for re-election in Edo Central. He was elected after Monday Okpebholo became governor, which made Okpebholo the first APC Senate candidate to win in Edo Central.
Okpebholo stepped down after he became governor. As the state party leader, he now determines who can run. At the moment, Senator Ikpea has no challengers for the primary.
Edo South
In Edo South, the current Senator, Neda Imasuen, is seeking a presidential order to help first-term lawmakers secure a second term. He was first elected as a Labour Party member and later moved to the APC. Imasuen has run programs to support young people and farmers.
Imasuen has not yet secured the support of the Edo South APC group due to strong opposition. Those planning to run in the APC primary include former Secretary to the Edo State Government, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu; former House of Representatives member, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama; and former Edo APC Youth leader, Valentine Asuen.
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Governor Okpebholo is reportedly supporting Ogbeide-Ihama in keeping a promise made to a PDP legacy group and to Nyesom Wike. Some APC members worry that Ogbeide-Ihama’s run could be seen as a protest against Wike’s influence in Edo South politics.
An APC leader says Pastor Ize-Iyamu will not step aside or agree to a consensus. He has strong support within the APC. His allies believe everyone should compete in the primary. Political pressure could push the governor to choose between a consensus and holding primaries.
In the ADC, Olumide Akpata, who ran for governor on the Labour Party (LP) ticket in the 2024 off-cycle governorship election in Edo State and recently switched parties with his supporters, is likely to secure the ADC ticket. The ADC is now the main opposition in Edo State. Even though Akpata finished third in the governor’s race, experts say National Assembly elections could play out differently.
Akpata’s chances depend on who the ADC picks for president, just like Imasuen’s did in 2023. Most of the current ADC leaders have little political influence.
Matthew Iduoiyekemwen, who was once on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), is also said to be interested in running for the Edo South Senate seat. He was the PDP candidate in 2023 but lost to Imasuen.
He left the PDP last year but has not said which party he joined. His supporters think he is now with the ADC. The Senate race in Edo South will be close, and the APC’s final candidate and voter turnout will likely decide the winner.
