2027: Owan Group  Kicks against Endorsement of Oshiomole for Second Term 

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City 

Some people from Edo North Senatorial District   are advocating a power shift come 2027 general election.

The present occupier  of  the seat in the Senate is former Governor of Edo State and now Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who is from the Etsako axis and has recently been endorsed for a second term.

The endorsement, however, has sparked calls for the rotation of power, with the Owan bloc urging the Etsako axis to support their cause in the spirit of justice and fair play.

In response to the endorsement, the Owan Conscience Group, a socio-cultural and political organisation composed of Owan sons and daughters from the two local government areas of Owan East and Owan West, has expressed strong opposition to the purported endorsement of Sen Oshiomhole for another term and has, therefore, called for a power shift.

The Owan bloc has two of the six local government areas that comprise the Edo North district while the Etsako has three LGA; and Akoko-Edo with only one LG but with two state constituencies.

In a press statement issued in Benin city, the group’s chairman, Richard Ofen-Imu, distanced itself from the endorsement of Oshiomhole for a second term in the Senate, affirming further that it is the Owan nation’s turn to take over the senatorial seat in 2027. 

According to the statement, the Etsako axis has dominated the district’s senatorial seat to the detriment of the Owan and Akoko Edo axes, which together form the essential tripod of the Edo North Senatorial District.

The group said: “We read in the media recently that the Edo North caucus of the All Progressives Congress has endorsed Comrade Adams Oshiomole, the senator representing the Edo North district in the Senate, for a second term. The so-called endorsement was said to have taken place at a meeting of the APC leaders in the country home of the senator at Iyamho 

“We wish to make it abundantly clear and without any iota of doubt that the Owan nation completely disassociates itself from the unjust and insensitive endorsement. The Edo North district, otherwise known as the Afemai, is made up of three sub-ethnic groups, namely Akoko Edo, Owan and Etsako. None of the three is superior to the other. These groups should naturally share political positions that may be allocated to the area as an entity.” 

“We thank the revered elders of Edo North, the Rt. Hon. Col. Tunde Akogun (KSC), Senator Yisa Braimoh, Senator Victor Oyofo, and High Chief Raymond Dokpesi (of blessed memory) who vociferously canvassed a rotation of the senatorial seat to Owan in order of rotation precedent.

“Other prominent leaders of the Owan nation include Chief Richard Ehimigbai, Dr. Victor Amu, Mrs. Sabina Idowu-Osehobo, Chief Patrick Agbebaku, Princess Yinka Alufohai, and Comrade Mike Igaga.

“They also warned the Edo North APC against taking any actions that could threaten the delicate peace in the district, stressing that Edo North is not solely about Etsako.”

The group also averred that by 2027, the Etsako axis would have held the senatorial ticket for the zone for an uninterrupted period of 31 years. 

In contrast, both the Owan and Akoko Edo regions have only held this position for four years each.

This discrepancy may explain the agitation for a power shift by the other groups within the Edo North district as a whole.

The group highlighted this unfair and unjust distribution of power in subtly referenced to the skewed power distribution, stating: “It is important to note that the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, is from Etsako, as is the immediate past Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba. 

It also made reference to a former Ambassador who it said is from Etsako, and the current nominee for the same ambassadorial position also from Etsako and a few other positions that have been allocated to Etsako.

In the statement, Ofen-Imu further reiterated that elective political offices among the various ethnic or sub-ethnic groups are a key aspect of democracy. 

He also asserted that it is time to award the Owan nation the district’s senatorial ticket in 2027, having previously served only four years from 2007 to 2011, calling on the various political parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC), to allocate the senatorial ticket to the Owan nation in the interest of equity and fairness.