There is pressure on the chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State to reach a consensus on its governorship candidate for the November election.
The move is due to a cold war among some leaders of the party over the process that would lead to the eventual emergence of the standard-bearer for the poll.
Indications emerged at the weekend that the leaders were keen on a compromise following the appeal by the senatorial caucus and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman of Edo Central senatorial district in the state, Archbishop Anthony Okosun, who warned that the current division among the main stakeholders in Edo PDP was not in the best interest of the party.
He cautioned that if the trend was allowed to fester, it could threaten the chances of the party to retain the governorship in the coming poll.
He canvassed for reconciliation between the camps loyal to Governor Godwin Obaseki and that of Chief Dan Orbih.
Okosun said the groups must work together in order to present a formidable force against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party.
The PDP chieftain made the assertion at the party senatorial secretariat in Uromi, Esan North-East Local Government Area when he led other leaders from the zone to host one of the party guber aspirants and two times member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama.
Okosun, who used the analogy of the man who after labouring hard to milk his cow but out of anger lost the milk to ants and the cow as well, appealed to Ogbeide-Ihama to help bring the two groups in the party together.
He said that without unity in the party, neither camp could go alone and win the election even with the importation of the famous “Angel Michael” in the Bible from heaven.
He said: “I want to beg you (Ogbeide-Ihama), our labour shall not be in vain so that, at the end of the day, we don’t labour for the APC or Labour Party to enjoy. You (Ogbeide-Ihama) are fully aware of the faction in PDP as you are not a stranger in the party.
“God has put you in a position to help us to reconcile because as long as that faction is there, PDP will not go to Osadebe House (Edo State seat of power). One faction can not do it.
“We did it Edo Central and we lost the Senatorial seat. We lost the National Assembly (House of Representatives) seat. Today, the ants are drinking the milk.
“Please, help us to pull the two factions together. As I said in Abuja, if one faction, let’s say the governor’s faction, will go to heaven to bring Angel Michael without the other faction, he will contest and fail.
“If the other faction, let’s say Dan Orbih’s faction will go to heaven to bring Angel Michael, he will contest the election and fail.
“But if the two of them will join together and go to hell and bring the devil, they will contest election and win. Therefore, I am begging you, please use good office to bring peace to the party.
“Osadebe House is for PDP. Let us not continue to fight so that, at the end of the day, APC or Labour will not go there,” he advised.
While commending Ogbeide-Ihama for being a true party man despite issues of the past, Okosun assured the aspirant that his message would be taken to the people, just as he admonished him to have the interest of the party at heart.
Earlier, Ogbeide-Ihama told the Edo Central Senatorial leaders that his visit was to formally inform them of his ambition and as well solicit their nominations during the PDP primaries.
He promised to replicate his developmental strides in Oredo federal constituency across the state and vowed to be governor for all the people in Edo State if elected.
